It’s no miracle, but three Vicksburg girls will be on 34th Street in New York on Thursday, performing in the 82nd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Piper Booth, 15, Morgan Teller, 14, and Audrey Pope, 16, will be part of a dance ensemble that will be seen by an estimated 44 million television viewers. After performing their routine at Herald Square, in front of Macy’s, the girls will hop the subway, ride back uptown and then march in the parade before 3 million more spectators along the parade route.

When asked if she’d be nervous dancing in front of such a large audience, Morgan said, “I hope we’ll be having too much fun to worry about it.”

“I won’t be thinking about the cameras,” Piper said with a laugh. “I’ll probably be thinking about getting the dance steps right.”

A true showman, Audrey said she likes being in front of people. “I love to dance. I want to be noticed!”

Piper is the daughter of Terri and John Booth, Morgan is the daughter of Stacey and Blake Teller and Audrey is the daughter of Karen Pope. All three attend St. Aloysius High School.

“These three girls are lovely dancers,” said their longtime instructor, Debra Franco, in an interview at her studio. “They’re very hard workers and have been part of competition teams in the past.”

Morgan and Audrey have taken dance classes, either with Franco or other teachers, since they were 3 years old. Piper has taken lessons since she was 5. They’ve traveled to regional and national events in Nashville, San Antonio, Gatlinburg and other cities. Morgan also was part of a group of junior dancers who performed at the Miss Mississippi Pageant in 2004.

“We are so excited,” Morgan said. “I’ve been counting down the days.”

They left Saturday for the Big Apple, and were scheduled for rehearsals Saturday night and at least three hours today and each day this week leading up to the performance. Franco went along to chaperone, adding that she’d be aided in that task by dance teachers working for the larger performance group sponsoring their trip.

The girls will be part of a group of several hundred dancers from across the country, invited by Mike Miller and Associates production company, which coordinates dance, drill and cheerleading performances at various national venues.

They’ll be doing a salsa dance, and had to learn two different dances to the same piece of music before they left for New York, Franco said. “They won’t know which dance they will be doing until they get up there.” It will feature various formation changes and different visual tricks using pompoms and salsa-type frilly skirts.

The girls have been provided with red costumes with red, gold and hot pink ruffled sleeves. Midriffs appear to be bare, but are actually constructed using a flesh-colored insert that is thick enough to provide some warmth on what is expected to be a cold day with temperatures in the low 40s. They are also allowed to wear a long-underwear-type garment, under their costumes.

Franco received the invitation from the Mike Miller organization last spring and asked a number of her students if they wanted to attend. The families of the three who are going were able to work out all the details for them to go despite the busy time of year.

Airfare and fees are paid by each girl and her family, and include hotel, meals and several sightseeing excursions including a Broadway musical and visit to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes.

They also had free time scheduled, which was expected to include shopping and ice skating at the outdoor rink at Rockefeller Center.

It’s Audrey’s first trip to New York, and she said she’s looking forward to seeing the Rockettes show, especially since she’d love to be one herself someday. Piper and Morgan have previously been to the city.

“I’m looking forward to seeing New York City at Christmas time,” said Piper.

The three will miss two days of school this week, but planned to take a couple of tests before they left and will make up other work when they return.

“The girls are pretty good students but they do study hard,” Franco said. “The dancing helps them with time management.”

Besides preparing for the Macy’s parade, all three also have parts in Franco’s annual Nutcracker production. Between dance classes and practice, they sometimes are at the dance studio at least four afternoons or more a week.