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…

“And since the dancers of Ballet 5:8 also hadn’t seen a stage since March, it’s safe to say everyone in that park was feeling happiness. Maybe a little relief. Where there should have been fatigue, there was only joy.”

Beauty. Art. Expression. All are meant to reflect the goodness and the design of the Creator. And when approached with a heart desiring to reflect this goodness, we learn more about ourselves as creation.

This is what Olivia Kruse has learned through her experience as a professional ballet dancer with a Christian ballet company in Chicago. In this interview with Radiant, Kruse shares not only how she has learned to glorify God and relate to God through dance, but what dance — and specifically ballet — reveals about the design of the human person. In essence, she shares her understanding of the theology of the body of ballet.

Christians are more in the news today than ever before. Faith is a more present factor in our national and global life than ever before. But Christians, and people of faith in general, are often portrayed in one-dimensional, reductionist terms. The rich ways that Christians take part in our shared life, contribute to the public good, and keep alive the best values and traditions of our country are often obscured today.

Julianna Rubio Slager is co-founder and artistic director of professional dance company, Ballet 5:8 based out of Chicago. Her vision in establishing the company was to bring more dialogue of hope to the Chicago art scene. She serves as resident choreographer with a mission bring something significant to the audience that would otherwise remain veiled through thought provoking and breath taking dance. With their spring tours getting canceled, Ballet 5:8 is hosting online performances of their work. Click here to RSVP to their critically acclaimed performance of "Butterfly" about the Jewish artists who were held in the same concentration camp during WW2. It's available April 19-21st for viewing w/ tickets being on a pay what you can basis to help cover the wages of the dancers for their canceled season due to COVID-19. https://www.ballet58.org/butterfly

Ballet 5:8, a professional performance company based out of Chicago, will grace the stage of Kennesaw State University’s Dance Theater with its renowned Christian storytelling on Saturday, March 14. In their second time ever touring to Atlanta, they will present The Space in Between, a dynamic one-act ballet choreographed by Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager. The ballet, inspired by C.S. Lewis’ novel The Great Divorce, deals with real-life, weighty questions of eternity and encourages viewers to look ahead into what will happen after this life. The program will also feature two other works: Of Splendors and Horrors and Meditations.

On THIS - special Episode Of ACTIVE CULTURE - We go Backstage and Behind-The-Scenes of The The Latest Production from Chicago Area Based - BALLET 5:8 !! We Engage In the Lively Art Of Conversation with The Company's Artistic Director and Founder Juliana Rubio Slager and get The "Low - Down' on BALLET 5:8 - And - Their Latest Extravaganza - Entitled; "BUTTERFLY"!! The Show Will be Here in Milwaukee for ONE SHOW ONLY - on Saturday, February 22 @ PIUS XI Catholic High School - 135 N. 76th Street!! We Present an excerpt from THAT Show and Other Clips From Past Performances - including "BUTTERFLY'.

Every so often, Ballet 5:8 ventures into Chicago, sharing what might be the suburbs’ best kept dance secret. But it won’t be long until Ballet 5:8 is a secret to no one. The seven-year-old, faith-based professional ballet company is a decidedly robust operation serving dance fans and students across the south suburbs of Frankfort, Palos Heights and Beverly, and in Valparaiso, IN.