On such a momentous national milestone, four Silver Aces are taking part in the parade of a lifetime.
Members of the 55-and-older dance team affiliated with the University of Evansville Dance Company on July 2 are heading to Washington, D.C., for the National Independence Day Parade on July 4. Silver Aces coach Erin Lewis and dancers Amy Mangold, Elissa Inez Bakke, and Insook Beach auditioned and earned spots among 32 other performers from 10 states in the nationwide America’s Golden Dream Dancers team.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” says Beach, who started dancing with the Aces in her late 60s. It started with Bakke, a dancer throughout college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who followed senior dance groups across the country. “I just love to dance and perform, and there are not many opportunities for older dancers,” says Bakke, 59, a senior project manager with Salas O’Brien.
The chance to audition for the 2026 parade popped up on her social media feed in January, and she encouraged her fellow Silver Aces to try out.
“If my dancers are brave enough to try out, I might as well,” says Lewis, 47, the Executive Director for the UE Center of Innovation & Change. The Center partners with nursing, physician assistant, and physical therapy students, as well as SWIRCA & More, to operate the dance team with funding from the Sol and Arlene Bronstein Foundation. Lewis also is a competitive ballroom dancer.
“I just love the joy of dance. Any opportunity I have, I jump on it,” says Mangold, 55, president and CEO of United Way of Southwestern Indiana, who started dancing at age three and recently started competing in ballroom dance. “It’s going to be amazing to be in D.C. for the 250th, to celebrate those who have fought for our freedom.”
This is not the Silver Aces’ first time in the spotlight. Members have performed at UE basketball games, the 5K on the Runway fundraiser for the P-47 Foundation, the Tulip Trot for Parkinson’s Disease Awareness, and Leadership Everyone’s Celebration of Leadership awards ceremony. During their appearance at this year’s UE Dance Camp, the Silver Aces rehearsed the start of their parade routine with the students.
Rehearsals are held twice a week over Zoom, with dancers practicing at SWIRCA & More’s studio on Virginia Street, at UE, or at home. Rehearsing over video, “Because of the time lag, It looks like you’re off beat, but you’re not,” Mangold says. Over several months, “We’ve gotten to know each other virtually, and now I am excited to see them in person,” Bakke says. “I am excited to be part of the big 250th celebration of our independence. It is such an honor to have been chosen, and I can’t wait to march down Constitution Avenue.”
“We do several performances a year, but this upped the notch,” Bakke says of the capital parade. “It’s so exciting to get to the point that we’re almost ready to participate. Our age does not limit us.”
That practice is important. Dressed in red, white, and blue and waving pom poms, Lewis, Bakke, Beach, and Mangold must repeat their routine up to seven times over two hours along a mile-long parade route from Constitution Avenue to Independence Avenue. The Silver Aces’ four-day itinerary in Washington, D.C., with the America’s Golden Dream Dancers includes walking tours of memorials, visits to museums and Arlington National Cemetery, a July 3 performance at the National Mall as part of the 250 Concerts, attending the “Capitol Fourth” celebration on the U.S. Capitol’s West Lawn, and plenty of sightseeing. For most of the group, this is not their first visit to the nation’s capital, but this time will be special.
“I have never done anything like this,” Beach says. As their coach, Lewis takes pride in their courage: “I’ve enjoyed watching these brave women achieve something amazing.”
Watch the parade live on C-SPAN starting at 9:30 a.m. CDT July 4. A recording of the parade is available on YouTube after the event concludes.
