All Eyes on Morgan

HUNTSVILLE - Local dancer Morgan Breland and her mother, Cara Watts, cel­ebrated New Year's Day in London this year.

Breland - a 15 year-old- sophomore at Walla Walla High School - auditioned at a Universal Dance As­sociation camp last August to perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Instead, she was invited to travel to London to perform in front of more than 200 million television viewers and a half million people lining the streets in London's New Year's Day Parade.

Watts and Breland trav­eled to Seattle on December 26, where they joined the rest of the Universal Dance Association and Universal Cheer Association perform­ers. Breland was the young­est performer of approxi­mately 115 dancers and 1,300 cheerleaders.

The dancers had received a video of the routine to learn at home, but the chore­ography was changed once they arrived. During one of the early practice sessions Breland's group and another group - of about 15 dancers each -- was asked to stay behind after rehearsal. They were informed that they had been chosen to perform in the parade finale in front of the mayor and London's elite, an honor they were to keep top secret from the rest of the group.

The added performance meant extra rehearsals which eliminated the free day the pair had hoped to spend exploring. However, the finale rehearsals turned out to be one of Breland's favorite parts of the trip.

"We rehearsed in the larg­est ballroom in London and it was packed with people," said Breland. "It was ab­solutely gorgeous and we performed with the band that plays for the show Glee."

The 2.5 mile parade last­ed 4 1/2 hours, and the performers were required to line up two hours ahead of time. "It was pouring rain - so hard that it was raining sideways - and we were wearing spandex with cutouts in the back," said Breland who came down with a terrible cold shortly after arriving in London.

"She did great!" said Watts. "She was a real troop­er."

Watts, who runs Crofts Floral and Gifts in Day­ton with her mother, Vicky Beckmeyer, said the pa­rade was "nothing like a U.S. parade." She said it was made up largely of American teams and people walked around with buckets collecting money. She also noted that the English sense of humor is far different than ours.

"The audiences there are really different than here," said Breland. "The people will reach out and touch you and make comments. That was hard to get used to."

In spite of fighting illness and a demanding rehearsal schedule, the pair managed to pack a good deal of sight­seeing into their free time. "If I had to sum up London in three words it would be 'wet, cold, and stairs'," said Watts, laughing. "We never saw an overweight person. They walk very fast and there are stairs everywhere."

The culture difference was evident immediately. "I was walking down the street and passed 40 people and not one person made eye contact," said Breland. "The streets are so crowded that you have to bump into people and shove to get where you want to go."

Watts said she apologized to someone she'd bumped into and the person,"looked at me like I was crazy." Even a trip to McDonalds was stressful. "A hundred people were packed into a tiny room and the cashiers were point­ing and yelling at people, asking what they wanted," said Watts. "It's very fast- paced and crowded."

Both women commented on the beautiful architecture and the respect Londoners have for their heritage. "You could ask a stranger on the street to list all the kings and they could," said Watts. "They have great respect for their queen." The pair was also struck by the juxtaposi­tion of old and new. "We were surrounded by very old castles, bridges, churches and art, and then you would see The Shard - a very modern glass skyscraper, rising up in the middle of everything."

The duo had hoped to take the bullet train through the Channel Tunnel for lunch in Paris but weren't able to. The finale required a practice on what had been their free day and would have left them only three hours in Paris. And because it was a holiday, tickets for the trip 2.5 hour trip were $1,200.

Instead, they enjoyed sightseeing in London. They saw Big Ben and the London Eye - the world's third-tall­est Ferris wheel. They also visited Waterloo, Windsor Castle, St. Paul's Cathedral (shown in the movie "Sav­ing Mr. Banks"), the London Tower and the Crown Jew­els. "Getting into Windsor Castle was worse that airport security," said Watts. They also visited Buckingham Palace where they took in the Changing of the Guards.

They watched the theatri­cal Beatles concert, Let it Be, at the Savoy Theatre. Breland especially enjoyed The London Dungeons, an interactive walk where par­ticipants move from show to show learning about the Black Plague and meeting London notables like Jack the Ripper and Sweeney Todd. "It was kind of like an English-version haunted house," said Breland. "We never took a day to relax. There was so much to ex­plore. I think we could go another two months and still not see everything."

Back home, Breland is practicing with the WaHi Dance Team, preparing for their first competition on February 1. In September she will return to studio dancing, where she focuses on Jazz and Modern Dance at the Walla Walla Dance Company.

Breland is a 4.0 student and hopes to earn a dance scholarship and eventu­ally go into medicine at University of Washington. "No matter what, dance will always be a big part of my life," she said. "I hope to travel more. It's a cool way to see the world. You get to meet other dancers and see yourself through the audi­ence's eyes. It's neat to see how they watch you."

Breland and Watts wish to express thanks to every­one who donated to help make their experience a reality.