Why I Love Toronto Because Of Doors Open Reason #274

Canada’s National Ballet School

Now this was not going to be my final Doors Open post, but tonight I watched the Series Premiere of Breaking Pointe and it reminded me why I admire ballet dancers so much and why I adore the ballet. These dancers strive for perfection and one of the girls on the show said it’s hard for her to love anything else other than what she does. These dancers push themselves to literally the breaking point. The injuries they incur can be damaging to their career, but what they do, the way they move is honestly the most beautiful thing you will ever see.

Canada’s National Ballet School was not on my Doors Open list, but Upasana suggested we go and I’m glad she suggested it because the security guard at the school basically described it like a compound, but of course they have to ensure the safety of its dancers. The way she described the security measures was simply that no one from the outside can come in and that Doors Open is a rare event were the public is invited in.

The School started in 1959 by Celia Franca and Betty Oliphant at 111 Maitland Street. In 2005 the school moved into its current location the Celia France Centre on Jarvis which also includes the Lozinski House and Margaret McCain Academic Building. The school is home to dancers who range from grades 6-12. Canada’s National Ballet School attracts dancers from not only all over Canada, but from all over the world. I will say that these students are amazingly talented and we got the treat of witnessing a dance piece in progress. These students live, learn and dance at this facility and go to school six days a week with only Sunday off - that my friend is what I call dedication to an art form. The school even has some very famous Alumni including the magnificent Karen Kain (If you ever go to the Four Seasons you need to go early to her sit down with the audience session, this woman is a dance legend and I have the utmost respect for her), Rex Harrington, Veronica Tennant, Mavis Staines and Scream actress Neve Campbell just to name a few.

Now let’s talk about the facilities. The school is situated on Jarvis Street, which if you remember from my Keg Mansion post was a very rich area at the time. The Lozinski House is an old heritage building from 1856 which was fully restored. The house which is the centre piece of the facility once housed Ontario’s first premier Sir Oliver Mowat and later was the headquarters for CBC radio. It is a beautiful yellow structure that fits into the glass section perfectly.

The Margaret McCain Academic Facility is also amazing and was once the Havergal Ladies’ College. The façade is still the same and now the former college has 8 classrooms, computer labs and an art studio just to name a few of the things.

The main building is glass excellence letting in natural light from the big windows and giving the dancers a beautiful view. The studios are just so clean and sterile it is amazing. Running my hand down the bar I could only think to myself how I do not have the commitment to train like these students. The building has 12 studios, a library, a cafeteria and from what I understood a costume like factory where people hand make the costumes. The glass on the outside even has the musical notes of the Nutcracker etched in it.

This was a treat not only because I got to learn the history of two heritage buildings or seeing the architecture of the new modern facility, but also learning about the daily routine of these ballet students and how they work so hard for something they love so much. Like the show Breaking Pointe mentions in its promo, “These dancers are like athletes…It is an art that is more like a sport…people say getting here is the hardest thing in the world, but staying here is harder.” It is all so true and I can do nothing but applaud these students.

That is Why I Love Toronto