Simple (though sometimes still complex) sets, inspiring performances…read more We have been to their lunchtime plays on a number of occasions now, and I must say we are always blown away by the talent. Though this last time was even one up. The sheer talent of these two was mind blowing. It's a perfect way to have a midday date, to enjoy some time without the kids AND let school be your babysitter (saving money and time not having to find and pay a sitter) or to do something different on your lunch break to unwind and disengage for work stress. In my case "all the above". They are always so friendly, and the lunch crowd currently seems to be primarily the retired age crowd but the shows most certainly are wonderful for all adults. I've taken my mom and brother when they've visited and my husband and I have gone on a number of occasions then taking our time enjoy a luxurious lunch date after or bunch before. It is one of my favourite date ideas.

How do I start to describe one of the most understated venues in Calgary?…read more Lunchbox theatre is simply an amazing way to spend your lunch hour! The set up is simple, the price is fair, and the opportunity to watch emerging artists instead if sitting in one of the +15s with thousands of stressed out Calgarians is priceless! This theatre is celebrating 40 years in 2015, and that is no easy task! Think of what Calgary looked like in 1975 and try to imagine how a boutique theatre can still be around through multiple recessions. I highly recommend that you take one lunch out of your busy schedule and give this theatre a shot! Pack your own lunch and enjoy the entertainment! Quick Review on current show: Camp Victoria is a story of 3 women in Northern Canada in the late 1800's during the gold rush. They end up lost with an injured soldier and the adventures they go through in the woods. It's a very entertaining story watching these ladies justifying their use of 'medicinal' whiskey to fend off wolves and other sounds in the night. Try to get to the theatre while this show is still on, it's worth it!

The Arrata Opera centre is a 29,000 square foot facility set in the newly redesigned Wesley United…read moreChurch on 7th Street SW. Its prime function is to support the education and the development of new opera works in Canada. It also provides a very central and funky space for events, rehearsal, gatherings and productions. The rehearsal hall can occupy 175 people and the Nexen Gallery can accommodate 228. They also have a Studio and a greenroom for smaller groups. The Arrata also provides seating, lighting, and sound facilities and even has a costume and laundry shop for costume rentals. There are non profit rates that are very reasonable as well as corporate rates. Because of their relation and the beautiful architecture of the previous historic church incarnation, Arrata can provide a unique venue for your special events.

I've been working on rounding out some of my exposure to the arts. Opera is not something I "get"…read more Theatre? sure. Musicals? yes please! Classical music? yup. Subtitles on Foreign films? AOK. But Opera had been a scary frontier for some reason. Last year we saw a reasonable price for seasons tickets come out and we decided to give er a go. We were told it was a well rounded season to get an idea of the art. OK... if nothing it's an excuse to dress up and go to the Jube for a evening. I'm kind of glad I had a season to experience Opera without making a judgement. Opera Calgary is a very classy company that seems to attract some excellent talent. Definitely worth checking out if your interest draws you to Opera. I also discovered Opera Calgary has a program for professional under 35s that allows for cheaper tickets and special events - Club Allegro. I didn't do the cheaper tickets because I had my season tickets but I did get to check out one of the events and they did give a little talk to help us understand Opera for beginners (as opposed to just the pre talk which can be a little over my head) which was nice. Ohh.. and free Jube water I could take to my seat... amazeballs.. that's like a $3 value! I still find Opera challenging... maybe that's not all that uncommon. I still think I'd check out a play or symphony over an Opera but I'm not really scared of them and I'm growing to appreciate a very nice aria. I do still have a couple more years of Club Allegro to see if I can build on my understanding a bit more.

I feel lucky to have the CPO around and they are a brilliant group of musicians that attract a lot…read moreof talented guests and special programs. If you are under 29 you're super lucky and have the opportunity to see many of the amazing shows for $15 for you AND a another $15 gets you a guest of any age and often you're getting some pretty nice seats out of the deal (unlike many other youth or student programs). You just have to register for cpossibilities on their website and you'll get a monthly e-mail about the shows you can get cheap tickets for. It takes a bit more planning ahead but it's worth it as probably 80% of the concerts open up for cposs. This is a program I liked (when I was young enough *sniff*) because I needed to get out of school before I could justify even that $15 for a night out but it allowed me to get involved and fall in love with music without the largish investment. Since music was not a large part of my childhood, that connection was something CPO did for me from scratch in my mid to late 20s. There are plenty of youth targeted shows .... superheros, star wars, star trek, bugs bunny, Nightmare Before Christmas, fantasia, ET, circus acts... these type of shows were gateway concerts for me into some more of the classics but it was nice to start with music I knew well from the movies. I think the only caution would be you may realize you are like me and have 11 CPO concerts in a season (after you're no longer getting cheap tickets but have development a taste for the good seats) and you only have 2 saddledome concerts in that same time frame. It makes me feel like I'm suppose to be a grown up or something now.

I really wish I could get out to hear these guys more often. I suppose that means that the times I…read moredo attend a concert are just extra special these days. This review is based on my CPO concert-going experience spanning 16 years, with some specifics on the last two concerts I attended. The CPO is truly one of the top orchestras in the country. The group has come a long way since its inception in 1955. Like all world-class orchestras, they offer the staples of concert series: Baroque (the Serenade Series), Classical and Pops. In more recent history, they have added a new music festival, a Tchaikovsky Festival and crowd-pleasing specials like Jeans & Classics, Video Games Live, Bugs Bunny on Broadway and Star Trek. Their Saturday Morning at the Symphony Series is also quite popular. I attended the Video Games Live 2.0 concert and one of the New Works performances in May. Their website provides a lot of information to help you make your purchase. The Box Office is extremely friendly, efficient and helpful when you need to contact them with a question or group ticket purchase. The VGL 2.0 concert experience was a blast! They had gaming stations in the lobby, a costume contest, CD's, t-shirts, giveaways, and the Nintendo people were there. Even the Blindfolded Pianist of Youtube fame made an appearance. It was a huge celebration of gaming. Members of the audience came up to play Space Invaders and Guitar Hero. The orchestra played the music to match the players' progress (or lack thereof). In contrast, the New Works concert was a celebration of our Canadian composers. This was held at the Rozsa Centre. The group looked crowded on stage, but it somehow worked. I loved how the newest cellist waded his way to the front of the stage to make some opening remarks. There are a lot of new, fresh faces in the orchestra and they are giving the CPO a cool, hip vibe. That's a good thing. Yes, the orchestra needs to sound good, but to attract younger audiences, they also need to exude a bit of that "coolness factor", whether they're playing Bach, Brahms, Alan Gordon Bell or Bugs Bunny. The artists came out to talk after each performance as well. Those Hagen-Daaz bars are a great treat too. Venues are top notch. The Jack Singer Concert Hall has wonderful acoustics. If you're going for sound, there isn't a bad seat in the house. If you want a good view, some seats are better than others. There is a good range of tickets, from dirt cheap to top of the line to meet any budget. Seating is really good at the Rozsa Centre. It's a smaller facility but everything sounds and looks good in there. It's got a more intimate feel to it as well. As for the "front of house" environment, they've recently made some updates in the lobby that make traffic flow smoother, but that's the EPCOR Centre's domain so I won't go more into that. It's really cool that they have orchestra members interacting more with the public with things like SMATS, opening addresses and the Ask a Musician section on their website. Berthold Auerbach once said that "Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Does the CPO deliver on this? Yes they do. They are a dedicated bunch and they play "con molto espressione". [EDIT: To be absolutely honest, I worked @ CPO a very long time ago. It's been over 12 years ago and I don't know anyone there anymore so I trust that it's safe to review without any conflicts.]

What a beautiful theatre. The seats were comfortable for our entire performance and they had plenty…read moreof event staff and bars set up to serve customers. The fact that they had a mobile system to preorder drinks for pick up at intermission made things move smoothly. The staff was friendly and efficient. We loved the decor and really enjoyed walking around looking at all the art school students art. The themed drinks and decorations were great too. Thank you to all the amazing stage and show crews who put on a fantastic show. I have 2 complaints but I think they're universal to theatres and event centre's in general; there need to be more ladies bathroom stalls or make all the bathrooms gender neutral. Second is that seats should be staggered so that you're looking over someone's shoulders and not into the back of someone tall's head.

Saw Shen Yun. A beautiful production. Great lighting, effects and stage…read more The seats in the auditorium, however, were torturous. Painful to sit for more than an hour. Even that hour was unpleasant. The seats feature very thin cushion over a narrow hard wood frame, with short, hard wood arm rests. Everyone in my section stood up immediately at intermission. People behind me were rubbing their legs and hips complaining about how uncomfortable the seats were. Made a beautiful production less enjoyable

Hello, my name is Chris and I am a danceaholic. More specifically, am addicted to classes at…read moreDecidedly Jazz Danceworks. I signed up for an introduction to Bollywood class in the spring on a whim, and found myself looking forward to each session as the highlight of my week. I enjoyed it so much that this term I signed up for more classes and am dancing there four days a week. I feel terrific and energized, and I am having SO MUCH FUN. The teachers that I've had have been great- patient, good at explaning things, enthusiastic, and great dancers and choreographers. The classes I've taken have been low pressure and unintimidating, geared towards adult hobby dancers, rather than professionals. And even so, I've been learning a ton and the teachers are really experts. The school offers lots of different classes with an emphasis on jazz and jazz-inspired classes, including funk, hip hop, breaking, and house. But they also offer other classes like ballet, tap, and capoeira. The intro classes are truly intro classes for people with no experience in that style of dance, or with no dance experience at all. And the non-intro classes come in a range of skill levels for people who already know what they're doing. I find the classes to be very reasonably priced, the studios are large and in good condition, and all of the staff is great. I'll take off .00001 of a star because I think "Decidedly Jazz" has got to be one of the worst names for a dance school I've ever heard :) But it still rounds up to five stars because this place is tops!

A great atmosphere for all ages and backgrounds! We are very happy to be part of this studio.read more

Super company. Perfect venue. Talented dancers. Top notch choreography. Enjoying my second…read moreseasonal subscription.

Last night, for the first time in my life I went to go see a ballet. And it wasn't just ANY ballet,…read moreit was the Alberta Ballet's performance of The Nut Cracker. 3 words my friends: OH. MY. GOD. The show was absolutely INCREDIBLE. The sets! The dancers! The music! OH MY! The ballet was accompanied by The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and I cannot even begin to describe how superb every single element of the show was. Choreographed by Edmund Stripe, all music composed by Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky and performed by some of the most talented dancers I have EVER seen on stage, this show is truly one of a kind. Every single dancer who took the stage performed with absolute grace, professionalism and expertise - to the point where they made it seem like dancing on your tip toes or leaping through the air is as simple as breathing. I truly don't have enough words to describe how incredible this show is. If I could recommend you see ONE show this holiday season, I would recommend it be The Nut Cracker performed by The Alberta Ballet. It's only on stage in Calgary until December 26th, so that gives you 6 days to book seats for one of the most awe-inspiring shows you will ever see.

This is a terrific venue in the Cultural District downtown, across from city hall…read more It is huge and takes up a full city block, has 6 levels and is over 400,000 square feet. Inside there's a number of theatres and theatre companies -Alberta Theatre Projects, Theatre Calgary, One Yellow Rabbit, and the Engineered Air Theatre. Plus the Calgary Philharmonic plays in the Jack Singer Concert Hall. Many awesome concerts play at the Jack Singer, too - the acoustics are are amazing! There's also a ticketmaster in the centre court for all your entertainment needs!

The EC is one of the largest entertainment halls in Calgary, in fact it occupies a full block…read moreoccupying 400,000 square feet, and that is about 10 acres. It is a 6 level complex downtown so it is near the train terminals and after 6 pm there is very cheap parking underground and free parking on the streets. There are 4 theatres at the EPCOR Center and one hall. EC provides theatre entertainment as well as music entertainment from all around the world. I watched an Argentinean guitar quartet there a half a year ago and although we were a little late we managed to be accompanied directly to our seats by a very pleasant usher. The concert hall is enormous, but there are various entrances that can take you very close to where you need to sit. The concert that night was glorious, this is fine classical guitar picking, that is very erratic and elaborate and I swear I could feel and hear every guitar string being plucked. The acoustics there at EC are fantastic and the seating is super comfortable. The roster of entertainment is so diversified at the EPCOR, in fact in January Chef Anthony Bourdain has been sold out since October. You may recall this guy, he travels all around the world eating anything that is exotic, and I believe the last time I saw him on television was seeing him eating cow testicles in Thailand. So expect incredible variety and high quality entertainment at the EC.

At 10 o'clock it was still light out, but the park began to light up. The crowd was primarily in…read moretheir 20s and the music got louder. The young adults moved quickly in packs around the park. Everyone was nicely dressed & behaved. The fireworks begin around 11ish. The carnival rides, games and food vendors were busy.

Ok so we caved and went to stampede this year "post-pandemic" and you know what? It was actually…read morepretty good!! Maybe it was the fact that not as many people went as in years past or maybe it was all the extra sanitizers and cleaners around, but it felt pretty safe, clean, and fun! We didn't do rides this time since we had gone to Calaway Park the day before but we did eat some of the carnival food including cotton candy, mini donuts, corn on the cob and lemonade. The food selection was pretty standard carnival food, nothing too out of the ordinary. The animals area was fun for kids, they got to pet some animals there too. The indoor market was majorly lacking. There weren't many vendors as in years past. I did run into Ashley Callingbull and took a selfie with her! :) the food court area indoors where they had the kitchen stadium had fun coloured seating and these giant seesaws for the kid's to enjoy. I also wanted to check out the new Indigenous village they have which was really cool. They had a bunch of vendors and so many big teepees. Unfortunately when I got to this part of the park the teepees were already closed and there were no people to interact with or learn from so that was a bit disappointing. The Northern tent had the vaccinated only party going on in there. To get in you needed to put your name on the wait list, show proof of your full vaccinations, and take a rapid test. We didn't go to this area since we were with the kids but I like the idea of them testing this methodology out. They reported later that only 18 people out of the 20,000 per day tested positive for the virus and were told to leave the ground and go isolate immediately. Overall Stampede 2021 was a decent comeback to this timeless event. I'm sure we will return again next year or in future years. Great event!