Over the past week I've had two opportunities to see Ballet 5:8 perform Reckless, Julianna Rubio Slager’s newest full length work for Ballet 5:8. Last Saturday, I was privy to an up-close preview of the work at Ballet 5:8 studios; this Saturday, I saw it in its fullest form at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago…

Walking toward the Studebaker Theater for Ballet 5:8’s premiere of Reckless, you couldn’t escape the gravity of this moment. The marquis of the Auditorium Theatre reads the sad statement of our times, #OneYearDark. One year of careers on pause, one year stepping back from performance art to focus on survival. But on this day, as the first signs of spring peer out through the dirt, you could also experience the first signs of the return of the arts.

As many theaters around the nation remain dark, Ballet 5:8 sheds light on a different kind of darkness: the reality of modern day slavery. Ballet 5:8 Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager’s newest full length ballet Reckless premieres at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago on Saturday, March 13.

On the surface, Ballet 5:8 looks like just another dance company. But the creative impulse of artistic director and chief choreographer Julianna Rubio Slager is driven by her Christian faith and a desire to share the gospel through ballet.

For many of us, history was an integral part of our academic experience. As children, we read our history books and learned of the formative years of our nation, of wars that forever changed the socio-political climate worldwide, and of the trials of the oppressed as they fought for freedom. But the past is doomed to repeat itself unless we take that knowledge, combine it with deep reflection and introspection, and turn that potent mixture into action. While that action can take place in courtrooms and protests, it can also find its home on a proscenium stage. Art, and more specifically, the art of dance, has at its heart the the power to keep the past alive and give voice to its stories. Through thorough research, reflection and creative development, choreographers can shed new light on some of history’s darkest days. But that ability is an art in and of itself, and few are as well equipped to shine that light as Ballet 5:8 Artistic Director, Julianna Slager.

CHICAGO – Now in its 7th performance season, Ballet 5:8 returns to The Athenaeum Theatre with The Space in Between. What if heaven is nearer than we think?  What if we carry inside of us the darkness of hell? Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager’s newest work draws inspiration from The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, using Ballet 5:8’s signature blend of innovative storytelling and breathtaking dance to explore the nature of eternity and the joy found on its shores. The Chicago performances will be held on Saturday, October 20 at 7:30pm and Sunday, October 21 at 2:30pm at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N Southport Ave. Attendees are additionally invited to attend a post-performance Q&A. Tickets are $30 for adults, $22 for students and seniors, and $15 for children.

ANDERSON — A hybrid adaption of one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novels is being performed live Saturday at the Paramount Theatre.

CHICAGO – Celebrating its sixth performance season, Ballet 5:8 will return to the Athenaeum Theatre this November with the Chicago premiere of Compass, presented by Dance Chicago. Ballet 5:8’s Compass features four one-act ballets inspired by the challenges of navigating cultural tension in the present day. From an alien society to 1970’s Chicago, Compass stretches across time and space to explore some of our country’s most pressing topics. At times witty and satirical, and at times deeply emotional, Compass is full of athleticism, power and poetry. A single performance will be held on Friday, November 10 at 7:30pm at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 North Southport Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Tickets are $30 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and $15 for children.