Retail Therapy

Saturday night, I headed to my last event of this trip. Living in Ottawa has atrophied my Toronto transit-sense as I have been misjudging travel time. So the Four Seasons Centre was empty when I arrived for The National Ballet's recital. But it wasn't because tonight's program was more contemporary than classical. The crowd eventually filled up the multi-story atrium before the show started.

The first piece was Passion, acquired by the company as a retirement gift for Piotr Stanczyk. It was composed by his mentor James Kudelka. A modern dance couple (Stanczyk and Svetlana Lunkina) danced intertwine with 2 other couples and a small corps doing classical ballet. It was supposedly a contrast between the restrained decorum of the past with the freer feelings of a modern relationship. But I interpreted the leads as struggling between romantic passion (for someone) and devotion to work (a calling), in this case professional dance.

The cranky doyenne next to me didn't think much of Passion. I agree that it felt unclear and aimless as the couple kept pacing around and staring meaningfully at each other while the rest of the dancers swirled around them. But whenever Stanczyk and Lunkina joined up, especially in the long pas-de-deux halfway through, their crispness and speed were wonderful to watch.

Emma Bovary was a new work commissioned by the company based on Flaubert's Madame Bovary. It focused on the psychological journey of the titular character and not a straight adaptation of the novel. I thought it would be a traditional set-up but perhaps not as old-fashioned as Romeo and Juliet. So I was pleasantly surprised by its modern sensibility. This might be the first National Ballet piece that had both a choreographer (Helen Picket) and a director (James Bonas). There was a natural flow between the set pieces and a clear narrative. Though not as elaborate and expensive as Alice In Wonderland, the judicious use puppetry, wardrobe, projected effects, and (also likely a first) wire work made Bovary come alive.

Emma (Hannah Galway) was the most fleshed-out character from the unhappiness with her staid husband Charles (Donald Thom), the wild abandon with her lover Rodolphe (Siphesihle November), and the addiction to the wares of venal Lheureux (Spencer Hack). The men were painted in broader strokes and so was Charles' mother (Jordana Daumec). The choreography was the best kind for me: grounded in the language of classical ballet but re-imagined as expressive contemporary movement.

Opening night had a technical glitch about 5 minutes from the explosive ending (when Emma kills herself) that halted the show and brought the lights up. This gave my elderly seat-mate time to harrumphed about all that sound and fury. As for me, I much prefer this heightened character study to the static tableaux of typical narrative ballet (even if I am fond of Swan Lake). So when the lights came down and the final scene played out, I was enthusiastic in my appreciation.

Led Poole

Saturday morning, I left my short stay and walked along College St. to Little Italy. Almost all the old Vietnamese businesses except for Pho Ling have been replaced: jewelry shop Cuchara was once Do Hue Fabrics and interior design firm Spaces by JacFlash took over BQ Signs. My destination was a yoga studio at the corner of Montrose. Yogaspace was located on the busy Ossington strip for 2 decades. They muddled through the pandemic and even installed HEPA filtration, but finally closed for another location of Avoca Chocolate.

I wasn't really a part of that community as I practiced mostly at the YMCA and on Queen St. West. But I did get my training there just before everything shut down. The owner was retirement age so I was surprised that they would invest money in a new spot. Inside, it was much smaller than the old place. Whether or not they used pricey material or pulled off a miracle renovation on a budget, it looked great.

I've practiced with the Vinyasa instructor before, and especially with their spouse in the hard-core classes at Downward Dog. It was interesting to follow someone else's cues and sequencing since I haven't been in a class in a year. With decades of experience and fully immersed within yogic philosophy, they spoke with assurance and humour. Their story about the origin of the half-"lord of the fish" twisting pose was new to me. They advised the students against extreme back-bends with personal experience: from a giant poster as a Lululemon ambassador back in the day to a middle-aged body with back issues. But that didn't stop the younger practitioners from doing "full wheel".

Afterwards, I tried going to Kiss My Pans on the same block. This cheese shop also offered Singaporean dishes thanks to one of the co-owners. But this week-end was their grand opening so it was full even at 11 am. Their neighbour, the gluten-free/Paleo Konscious Kitchen (Yam Chops for a long while), sounded a little too kooky for me. I headed back but Prairie Boy Bread (which sank under debt) was now Lardo. Meanwhile, Shiba Poke's College location was in arrears. Then across the street, I spied a new place called Bricolage Bakery.

It was run by an Asian couple and offered items such as sausage rolls, cheese tarts, and baguettes. I settled on a butter croissant ($3.70) and a pretzel ($2.40). The croissant was large (not my favourite style) and reasonably flaky. But similar to defunct Bonne Nouvelle (also an Asian-owned store), I didn't love the sweet glaze. Give me more butter, please.

I bought some mixed nuts at No Frills that wasn't available in Ottawa. Then I ate a slice ($5.50) from 241 pizza while watching people queue up at the new location of The Common café. Buying lunch for my trip back tomorrow, I realized that even Subway subs were cheaper in Toronto!

Night Moves

Friday night, I made my way to Fleck Dance Theatre down at The Harbourfront. I've enjoyed ProArteDanza's recitals over the years. After the show, director Roberto Campanella explained that in conjunction with the dancers, they fleshed out his ideas of the Jungian archetypes Anima and Animus as an exploration of the "inner demons" that arise at night, when someone is vulnerable in mind and spirit.

In Night Shadows, there was numerous group and smaller pairings throughout the show. These were sometimes tender but usually it was hard contortions of the body. Eyes and mouths are covered, by the dancers or their partners. One section highlighted individual solos, while the cohort shouted improvised encouragement, snarky put-downs or anxious insecurities.

One through line was a moving door that sometimes allowed people to step through in curiosity and other times was a barrier where dancers forced themselves past in violence. It was a reflection, a lure, and even a respite. For me, I was intrigued by the meta idea that it was just a door frame prop. Yet it created a separation of spaces: inside, outside, behind, in front, and so on. Furthermore, at the beginning and at the end of the piece, 3 dancers were inside rectangular boxes created by light projection. These were also non-real ideas that had a physical weight in the world.

ProArteDanza often uses entire movements from classical music though they will create modern sound collages in shorter mixed programs. Tonight was the first time I've seen them composed a "contemporary" sound design in a longer recital. Although there were classical snippets, they were often chopped up or manipulated to sound distorted and disquieting. The rest included propulsive "EDM for goths" or eerie effects. During the question period post-show, some dancers said they were instructed to fight the music. That is, to not descend into kitschy lyricism for the soft passages or to give in to the beat for the catchy parts.

As for myself, I don't fight my inner demons at night. Probably because I'm usually too tired from only 5-hour of sleep. It must be equal parts thrilling and frightening to confront the "unreal yet also real" spectres birthed from your hidden self.

Made In Taipan

The heavy breakfast at Daily Grind was unwise since I was meeting some co-workers for lunch on Monday. The subway in Toronto can't be beat: I was able to get on the Bloor line at Lansdowne, hop off at Ossington to get money from an ATM, back on until Yonge station, then take the Yonge line to North York Centre. Despite only a 40-minute window, I made it on time to a Taiwanese fusion cafe called Petit Potato.

Last time here, I enjoyed their pan-Asian food with a dash of European-style desserts. This time, it was a more pedestrian meal for me. Perhaps they didn't do Japanese dishes as well since by accident we ordered all Japanese fare: omurice with chicken cutlet ($16.99 lunch special), pork gyoza ($7.99 add-on), and takoyaki ($10.49). Everything was just so-so, even the edamame was limp and bland. But the Earl Grey mille crepe cake ($12.99) was a good end to the meal.

My ex-coworker's temporary hiatus has transitioned into early retirement. With elderly relatives needing to be managed (health care, a life-time of personal belongings, and so on), an introverted child having trouble breaking into a hi-tech field that favours braggadocio, and prioritizing their own well-being (running, yoga, sleep), they didn't have the bandwidth to look for work at this late stage in the game. My current coworker was still at it but with married children, they were planning on how to transfer assets such as property in a tax-effective way. In fact, our discussion revolved mostly around retirement including various health issues, government benefits, and other grey-haired topics.

On the way back to my studio rental, I got off early at Bloor and Delaware to grab a veggie plate from Laziza for dinner. When this Middle-Eastern takeout opened about a decade ago, this entrée was only $8.99. But this meal was now $14.99. Though some employees were stingier than others, you could generally expect a good amount of food in the container. Today's taciturn server wasn't one of the regular workers behind the counter. From my vague recollection, he was typically miserly. But this time he piled on so much food that there was enough for two meals. The container was so hefty that I had to alternate arms while carrying it. Even with the higher price, I won't find this sort of deal in Ottawa.