HOW WE SPENT OUR SUMMER

A tale of second chances

Our past year in CCDT’s 509 DANCE studio began like any of the past three decades. Like a familiar play, the scenes unfolded rhythmically, from Cabbagetown’s fall festival spilling through our Open House doors, to the traditional unveiling of our company and apprentice casts at Wintermission’s December fundraiser, to the in-studio repertoire reveals for Wintersong and our Spring touring and home seasons, and then on to SunDance, mid-summer’s sheer delight in moving-at-the-verge, refreshed by new faces looking forward to a new year.

Just one flaw though in this well-rehearsed script. For the first time since 1994, its final scene remained unwritten. You see, we had sold our beloved dance home out of financial necessity and the Closing date was August 31.  And so, for the past year, each familiar scene had rung down its own bittersweet curtain.

But then, in stepped Fate. With Her penchant for simple twists, She appeared in the unlikely guise of the Toronto Preservation Board. With encouragement from local residents, She countered the Buyer’s ambitious development plan for 509 with a sweeping Heritage Designation – yes, every brick untouchable…the plot had indeed thickened.

So, Heritage versus Development, among the City’s oldest civic duels, was to take the stage for our season’s final scene – and there, caught right between the combatants, was CCDT.  Centre-centre, yes, and yet, by current rules, as mere property owner, we were effectively assigned the role of innocent bystander!

But such wars take time and as the closing deadline loomed there came the glimmer of a silver lining to Fate’s intervention…perhaps we could negotiate an extended Closing…but then what if we couldn’t?? We’d be dancing on the street if we had no space to land and we’d be in breach of Closing if we didn’t provide ‘vacant possession’ down to the last hairpin.

Dance Arts Institute (formerly STDT), just down the street in Daniels Spectrum, generously provided a lily pad to land on – but what of sorting out 44 years’ accumulated stuff? And storing it? And with luck and a top-flight legal team, moving it all right back in…or not?  Talk about balls in the air.

As with any good drama, Closing day presented its eleventh hour theatrics – and then the deal, in the modern anticlimactic way of DocuSign digital exchanges, was done.

Six days later our move back in was complete and on the seventh we opened 509’s doors wide to welcome in our 31st Cabbagetown Festival - and two more years of dancing together.  Whew.

Second Chances Production Cast

Emotional-Basket-Case-in-Chief: Deborah

In-Over-His-Head-(Big Time)-Navigator: Michael

Holder-of-the-Fort-Only-Calm-Person: Kathryn

Caller-of-the-Play-by-Play-Only-Other-Calm-Person: Natasha

Plastic-Tub-Stuffer-and-Porter-Extraordinaire: Britta

Human-Conveyor-Belt-All-Round-Good-Guy: Joe

Into-the-Breach-Can-Do-Girls: Ally and Allison

With special thanks to a patient and loyal supporting cast of teachers, company dancers, accompanists and School of CCDT families and dance community friends. Without you its just empty space.

Deborah Lundmark & Michael deConinck Smith

Co-Founders & Co-Directors, CCDT