No place like home

[Karen writes]

The trip home was uneventful; the most notable thing being, perhaps, the decline of gas prices from $3.67 to $2.85 a gallon. We took the Phoenix bypass this time, from Buckeye to Gila Bend. There was no particular reason, save our memory of the awful traffic jam north of Casa Grande on our trip out.

At the UWP staff reception last night, I got an overview of the history of the organization. It's funny, everyone we told about this gig had heard of Up With People, but were surprised to hear the group was still in existence. In fact, UWP was founded in 1965, but closed shop in 2000 as most of it's major funding disappeared. It restarted in 2004 at a smaller scale and with fiscal health high on its list of priorities. This Rose Parade performance was UWP’s largest major live production in 24 years... since Superbowl XX! Their sudden appearance at such a prominent event and with such an impressive production resulted in so many hits on their website after the performance that the server crashed for 10 minutes!

The grandstand audience was clearly moved by the sheer scale and the unbridled energy of the piece as it flooded the street below them with color and motion and sound. However, the UWP producers were worried the TV broadcast didn't capture it entirely... and it didn't. Somehow the cameras completely missed two incredible shots--the Chinese dragon and the Ukrainian dancers (with the death defying--if you ask this girl-- leaping splits). I guess that's a testament to just how much was going on.

Last night we learned that not only was the Rose Parade Committee really happy with the results, those “in the biz,” who know how delicate and unpredictable it is to produce a live performance of this scale, were duly impressed.

For my part, it was an incredible experience to work with such dedicated people, young and, ummm..., older. Many of the alumni had volunteered their time, and many of the outgoing UWP grads had signed on an extension to help out on this gig before continuing on with their lives. It was wonderful to work with people who believe, at their very core, that artistic expression and cultural exchange make the world a better place. What’s more, the leadership and teamwork that UWP obviously instills in its participants is rare and genuine.

We're jazzed to be able to bring this experience back to Tucson and Odaiko Sonora. We send huge thanks to Mia Hanson, Bryan Takeda of Happicoats.com, all the Up With People staff and performers, and to all of you who followed on our journey by reading along.