Dear Tucson...

Each issue  we link up with Rachel Miller's Love Letters to Tucson blog for a letter from a Tucson inhabitant about why they love this fair city. This month: Soleste Lupu of non-profit dance studio Dancing in the Streets. Photos by Rachel Miller.

 

 

 

 

Dear Tucson,

"I love you, though I admit I love other cities and other places too. I love Seattle, I loved South Korea and the East Coast, but coming back to Tucson is like putting on your favorite pair of jeans.  It feels like home, like comfort.

"When I was young I was convinced that Tucson was too small, boring and I couldn’t wait to get away. I didn’t appreciate my hometown.  I didn’t realize just what I had here…the arts, the nature, and the rich culture.

"At 21 I moved away. I married and moved to South Korea, and then Seattle for 10 years and then divorced.

"Joey and I had met when we were kids, in ballet school here in Tucson.  We were together as teenagers until 1986, when we separated, but we kept in touch, through postcards and long distance phone calls.  We reconnected 15 years ago and have been married for five of those years. Underlying our friendship there was always this Tucson connection.  And it is that connection of Tucson that really cements and bonds us together, always having the pull of Tucson no matter where we were. It was great to be together, in Milwaukee or wherever, and say “In Tucson…”

"I think there is this piece of Tucson that lives in your heart…this feeling, deeper than a building or a place, just a wonderful acceptance of different lifestyles, different cultures, art, and it’s part of growing up in Tucson. I didn’t recognize that I had this sense until I moved away. Historically, we have had this wonderful mix of cultures - Native American, Mexican American, and Asian - that, along with the natural habitat influences peoples’ creations and I don’t think that exists in quite this way anywhere else in the country.

"I love that I grew up and still live in a neighborhood where wild animals roam. I don’t think there is a hierarchy of humans over animals when it comes to rights to exist, and I think that is in part due to growing up in Tucson. I used to walk home from school, through St. Joseph's Hospital grounds, and it was still desert. There were javelina and coyote along my path home, they never threatened me. When I moved away I met other people who hadn’t had that experience, who weren’t familiar with having wild animals around and were deathly afraid of birds, ants, coyotes and all the other animals that we grow up with.

"Did you know that we have an incredible legacy of dance here in Tucson? Joey and I were fortunate enough to be taught by George Zoritch, an original Ballet Russe dancer, and one of the founders of the University of Arizona Dance Program.  I didn’t know what that meant at the time. It wasn’t until years later when I was thumbing through an old program of the Ballet Russe and there was his picture! In the 1950s  and '60s George Zoritch, Mitrovich and a number of very prestigious dancers settled here in Tucson and started ballet schools. It was wonderful to have that whole generation dancers here, but they’re dying off and I worry that this wonderful history and legacy is slipping away.

"Tucson has managed to keep what is rich and great in diversity, in culture, in population, but can we continue? Arts and cultural events need people to attend, and they need dollars to survive. Phoenix has traditionally has been better at regular support. It’s important to remember, though, that we have incredible homegrown talent in Tucson, all over Tucson. We have many talented musicians, artists, dancers and tile artists in the city. I don’t think many people realize just how much talent we have. There is this idea that people from out of town have some sort of magic, that they have a better art that we have, and that isn’t the case."

Rachel met Soleste at the Dancing in the Streets studio on 38^th Street as Soleste prepared for the school’s upcoming Nutcracker performance at the Fox Theater. You can rise to the Soleste’s challenge and support the arts and Tucson’s homegrown talent by attending this family performance of the Nutcracker on December 14^th or 15^th at the Fox Theater downtown. Can’t make it? Sponsor a child’s lessons, or dance supplies, or perhaps even their costume for their first public performance. 

* Dancing in the Streets is dedicated to using the power of dance to break down cultural barriers and enriching the community’s artistic experience. Based in the City of South Tucson, where Joey grew up, the school is focused on providing children and their families from the immediate community with programs that build self-esteem through dance. Find out more about it here.