Hooray for you, Mari Sasano.

For me, pretty much every day is dance day when I wake up. But I do think that as a society, we leave dancing to the professionals, or in dark, drunken clubs way too much. Dance is such a physical, immediate expression of self. It should be fun, not intimidating. We shouldn’t “dance like no one’s watching,” as the cliche goes. In fact, we should all be comfortable dancing in public, no matter how proficient we perceive ourselves to be. It’s more fun that way.

So, thank you to Mile Zero Dance for the free show in Churchill Square today! I took the dogs down to see the action. There was a little bit of everything. But I have to admit, my favourite were the three choreographies performed by the students of Virginia Park School:

A piece called Herding Instinct, by grades 1-4.

It was great to see all those kids dancing together in a group like that. And when they were done, they call came and said hi to Henry and Edith while I ate my Fat Franks smokie. I recommend the jalapeno cheddar one. 

The kids were followed by an African dancer, and a modern piece by a limber dancer named  Sophie Fairweather:

, then a flamenco group and some contact improv. I forgot to take pictures because some friends showed up. But after a bit of a break, the Yellow Ribbon Dancers:

and some Polynesian dancers, a group with two trombones and a cowbell, a group with wheelchairs, and a finale featuring MZD dancers:

And here, just for fun, is a gentleman greeting Henry. The dog in the hat is Mr. Molson.

Last year, I wrote an article on the Slow Food movement in Alberta (excerpt), and since then I’ve become increasingly interested in food, food security, sustainability, and of course, eating. I went to a fun event in the summer called Indulgence, which is a big food and wine event that takes place in a hotel ballroom. But there are smaller events, too. Northern Food Night was my first time getting cosy with my fellow Slow Food members.

This is its fourth year. One of the members, Steve Cooper, grew up in Igloolik and still goes there frequently, so he started the dinner to promote caribou and other wild meats. I waffled on going when it was announced, but at the last minute another diner dropped out and I bought the very last ticket! I am so glad I did.

I arrived at the Cooper/Campbell home in Sherwood Park. I knew I was at the right place because the smell in there was amazing! Steve’s wife Twyla was preparing food in the kitchen, Steve was out on the deck grilling fish, muskox and caribou. One of the kids placed slices of parmesan onto the muskox carpaccio:

There were bowls of dried meat (caribou, char, beef) and olives from Olive Me, B.C. wines (I didn’t note the name, but I did have a nice glass of something white) and Alley Kat beer, brought by the owners of Alley Kat themselves. This was a very diverse crowd, ranging from farmers (Mary Ellen and Andreas  of Greens Eggs and Ham), Cyrus who is the husband of Kerstin of Kerstin’s Chocolates, and plenty of people who, like me, are just interested. 

After chatting for a while, we were invited to the dining room for a buffet-style feast.

It was all gorgeous, and very plentiful! Chops of both muskox and caribou, grilled pickerel and char, tartare of both muskox and arctic char, muskox prosciutto  and melon, muskox potstickers, whitefish caviar, char tarts, a cold char soup, smoked oysters (which, OK, are from B.C.), and muskox chili. Pictures!

char tartare

blubber!

I tried one of everything. This required two trips: 

plate #1

plate (and bowl) 2

Everything was amazing. Wild meats have so much flavour! I preferred muskox to caribou, but I won’t turn it down. The fish was beautifully cooked (planked on cedar and maple, or pan-fried), and the big surprise was maktaq. I really like it! It’s chewy and creamy, just like you’d imagine blubber to be. You can’t eat too much of it, but it’s a really amazing experience. Part of me feels a little bad about eating a whale, but it’s unlikely I’ll make a habit of it. Just for special.

Dessert was a saskatoon filled crepe with berry sorbet. And Andreas came around with a sample of duck pate, which they are working on bringing to market this season. Amazing flavour! I look forward to the final version. I forgot to take pictures, sorry! But I was having a really good time. And that’s the point of Slow Food: food as a way to get people together, to think about where our food comes from and support producers of local, sustainable products. All the meats were wild hunted or caught by people, not farmed by a corporation. I’ll start going to more of these things– there is a wild boar roast scheduled for mid-summer!

Edmonton Opera is starting a program for young people (and by young, they mean under 40) called Encore. They launched it last night with a party, which took place right on the set of La Traviata, which will be the last show of the season (and yes, I’m going!). Being a member of the club gets you discounted tickets, and pizza and beer (when it’s pizza and beer night).

But first: my friend Chandra and I needed a snackie. After trying the Sugarbowl (crowded! noisy!) I remembered da Capo right around the corner. Much better! We both had fresh juices and a yummy pizza– thin crust, beautiful cheese, actual tomato sauce that tasted like tomatoes. It’s no Tony’s Pizza Palace or nothing, but it was still great. 

.

And then, the party! It was rather brilliant! They had the Act I set up, complete with daring staircase and furniture– the press release promised Violetta Valery’s chaise longue, but in fact it was– as EO’s director Brian Deedrick gleefully pointed out– a “pouffe.” Speaking of Deedrick, he was an excellent host. He quickly introduced himself to Chandra (and took a real liking to her name, repeating it throughout the night) and then introduced us to other guests, including ACTUAL OPERA SINGERS. Like Doug MacNaughton, who will be playing the Baron Douphol. We chatted a bit about how he became an opera singer– it was an accident! Sounds like he has the best job in the world.

A photographer was hired to take people’s headshots. Here is mine:

They posted these all up on a “cast wall,” just like real actors/singers. The party is supposed to give us a behind the scenes perspective, right?

Speaking of behind the scenes, Brian (who works in the summers as a walking guide to Berlin) took us around the back, showing us the dressing rooms and costumes– oh, the costumes! Well, the womens’ anyways. Bustled gowns in pale gold, rich jewel tones. Brian let us know that they moved the historical period solely for the purpose of having women in bustles. Guess he’s an ass man. Who knew? And he introduced us to the star of the show, Marc Hervieux, whom he called one of Canada’s treasures. Then he invited us to touch him. Sadly, my camera’s batteries had died by this time. But rest assured: I got a piece of Hervieux. 

Then they had a performance by one of the chorus members, draws for prizes, and an invitation to the after-party which we opted out of. Next time?

I saw a couple friends there, met some interesting people, and had some tasty food. I think I ate the equivalent to one entire melon with prosciutto. They will be doing this like this again next season, and I recommend going. There will be backstage visits, social time with Brian (who, again, is a delight), and of course cheaper tickets to the shows. And you may– just may!– touch a tenor.

 www.edmontonopera.com.

I was already inclined to love this because:

a) The story is among my very, very favourites — the same can be said of the movie, which makes me cry every time;

b) My friends Jeremy Baumung (scarecrow), John Ullyatt (tin man) and Elena Porter (tree, Oz lady, ohweeoh, weoooooh) are in it; and 

c) my date was Trevor Anderson, who I love yet never get to see because his film career is going through the roof right now (http://www.dirtcityfilms.com).

But first, dinner! We were planning on a cheap-o meal because we are both broke. But then at the last minute decided fuck it, when do we ever get to see each other? and splurged on Sorrentino’s on 100th. We were seated far, far away from the businessmen (and yeah, all men), but that just meant that finally, we were alone! We both had a tomato salad with fresh mozarella, he had pork and  I had fish. Heaven. Our nice waiter would laugh at our jokes from across the room. Super yummy bread pudding for dessert. Sorry no pictures. Too busy gossiping and eating.

Opening nights at the Citadel are fun. All the arts people show up. We were seated next to magician Gia and John’s awesome wife , circus artist Annie. The lights went down, the orchestra began to play the overture and I began to tear up. The set was beautiful. Kansas was a simple silhouette of telephone lines and horizon, with the farmhouse and a few other little buildings. John, Jeremy, and Julien Arnold (he was the lion) were perfect. The Dorothy was cute, but this show belonged to her sidekicks. OH! And Peanut, who played Toto– he missed one cue, but otherwise patiently waited in the basket for most of the show. Never stealing the scene, but making it better in subtle ways– the way he shook his head when Dorothy was “no place like home”-ing, for example. 

So, there I was in tears, trying to hide it. Alternating that and laughing like hyenas! The Munchkins! Adorable and hilarious! Jazz hands! The trees, rolling around on wheels! And, by the way, Elena was the best tree– she really stood out. They made good use of projections, for when we needed the witches to gaze over our little travelers. And the singing! Wonderful.

Intermission! Ice cream! Trevor admitted he was weepy too, so I no longer felt embarrassed. We finished the show with a standing ovation. Then we snuck out of the reception because it would’ve kind of ruined it to schmooze after. And besides, they were serving hors d’oeuvres, and there was no way I was ready to stand in front of food again. So anyways, if you want a fancy night out, do go. Bring hankies if you are sentimental.

Citadel Theatre