Ballet 5:8 Returns to the Stage with a Breathtaking Ballet and a Bold Story

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. Both times, it left me breathless, and for multiple reasons. Almost to the day of the anniversary of the closure of theaters due to the pandemic last March, Ballet 5:8’s performances demonstrated that this group of artists has been working hard through the entire stage hiatus and that they believe good art is meaningful, important, and relevant even in a socially-distanced world. 

For starters, Reckless was drastically different than anything I've seen Ballet 5:8 perform thus far. I'm not surprised - I know well that Slager loves to create and that she rarely if ever repeats herself artistically and as a choreographer. Reckless was stunning both in the way it did things differently and in the way each aspect was thoughtfully crafted and exquisitely woven together to tell a compelling story. Two of the most notable of these elements were the use of the “Greek Chorus” concept and the portrayal of Gomer using multiple dancers. 

In traditional ballet settings, there are the principals and soloists who dance the featured roles, and then there is the corps de ballet - literally the “body of the ballet.” Corps dancers fill in the stage, sometimes as background and sometimes as the primary visual, and provide context for the story being told, whether or not it is meant to convey meaning. For Reckless, Julianna took the role and significance of the corps to the next level by creating her own version of a Greek Chorus, a tradition borrowed from the plays of classical Greece. 

In Reckless, the dancers of the corps portray not just one role but constantly morph and change throughout the work. The Chorus in Reckless seamlessly represents humans, objects, places, and even feelings from one moment to the next, lending context to the main characters and pushing the narrative forward in multi-dimensional ways. Combined with a projection of background images that provide subtle cues, Slager’s Chorus provided a compelling and communicative backdrop for Gomer’s journey in addition to providing many layers of sculptural and thematic interest. Truly, I would need to watch Reckless several more times before I could fully appreciate all that the Chorus does - but that is part of the beauty of a substantial work of art that won't be getting stale anytime soon. 

Then, there was Gomer. In Reckless, Slager uses a cast of four dancers to give notable depth and dimension to a character who has only a fleeting description in the Biblical narrative used as source material for this work. As soon as the curtain opened, my eye was drawn to Gomer (danced by Lezlie Gray and Valerie Linsner) and two companions, Intellect (danced by Lorianne Robertson) and Subconscious (danced by Libby Dennen). Gracefully clad in a subdued magenta by Costume Designer Lorianne Robertson, Gomer humbly contrasted with the pedestrian garb of the Chorus, styled in the colors of the Chicago flag. Throughout Reckless, Gomer’s mental dialog is represented by a fascinating, ever-evolving pas de trois between the three dancers.

While it initially felt unexpected to see Gomer constantly accompanied by her entourage, I quickly grew accustomed to seeing the added dimensions that painted a bigger picture of the dialog in Gomer’s mind and heart than could be conveyed with just one person in the role. One of the most notable moments for “team” Gomer is near the end of the ballet, when she has the opportunity she thought she would never have to approach Hosea, ask for forgiveness, and go back (a second time) to her life outside of the brothel. Intellect and Subconscious physically push Gomer into Hosea’s arms at that point, painting a compelling and relatable picture of those times when we have to make a hard decision and are carried along gruelingly by one part of ourselves, knowing that the other parts will be forced to follow. 

Another reason Reckless left me breathless: the artists themselves. Both Gomers - and both dancing their first principal roles with Ballet 5:8 - handled the technically demanding choreography with grace and the emotionally demanding story with believability. As the younger Gomer, Gray shows the character’s progression from a sweet teenage girl meeting her first boyfriend to a broken young woman reeling from the physical and emotional abuse of her captivity as a sex slave to an excited bride still reeling from the impossibility and relative strangeness of her new circumstance. As the older, married Gomer, Linsner takes her character through a marriage that sees the inevitable bumps and strains of a relationship, a momentary, seeming victory as she takes the family’s financial situation into her own hands and willingly returns to the sex industry, a dark night of the soul as Gomer realizes all that she has returned to, and a momentous release as she basks in the wonder of her undeserved reconciliation with Hosea. All four dancers contributing to the Gomer role - Gray, Linsner, Dennen and Robertson - adeptly maneuver through acting, solo work and partnering, the partnering in particular highlighting the contrasting ways that Hosea and International Blue treat Gomer. 

Hosea and International Blue also deserve recognition for their portrayal of the respective characters. James Wainwright convincingly takes on what he described in the TalkBack as the “grossness” of International Blue’s character, an egotistical man who achieves his physical and financial gain based on the manipulation and abuse of Gomer and many others like her. Hosea’s character, danced by Sam Opsal, appears as the starkest of contrasts to International Blue, differentiated not only by his costume and trench coat but through the distinct way he carries himself. From Hosea’s earliest interaction with Gomer, we see his integrity, kindness and respect for others evident in his nonverbal language. Opsal’s character was behind some of the moments I saw as most powerful in Reckless, beginning with Gomer’s first interaction with Hosea. Gomer assumes that Hosea also wants sex for hire; Hosea’s refusal is tender but firm and reveals the first glimmer of hope in the difficult story. Later, after his own dark night of the soul, Hosea responds to Gomer with that same love, tenderness and respect that he did at first, despite the many wounds both he and Gomer have brought into their relationship by their actions. 

Finally - Reckless left me breathless because it seamlessly brought together an incredible team of artists, adept choreography, and an important story. In many shows, one or two artists stand out above the others, or the story stops so we can enjoy a virtuosic pas de deux or solo. These things can be good in their own right, but in Reckless, this was not the case, and there was no mediocrity in sight. Slager successfully crafted sounds and sights that were interesting, engaging, compelling, but that ultimately served to tell the story. The ballet would certainly have been less without some of the difficult choreography, for example, but with it in its place, we almost miss that is it there for the power of the story. Similarly, each artist, from the lead roles to the Chorus, obviously put both their skill and their hearts fully into this work, achieving a kind of unity that does not come easily to any group full of innately flawed humans. No one artist stood out, the team continually working together and lending one another energy as they each pressed wholeheartedly into their respective roles. That spoke volumes to me, both in relation to the art - and as a beautiful glimpse of heaven, authored by the God whose reckless love the story of Hosea and Gomer encapsulates.

-Amy Sanderson, Ballet 5:8 Co-Founder & Executive Director Emeritus

Interested in seeing Reckless? Find out details of where it’s being performed here.