Ballet 5:8 Celebrates Their 10th Anniversary Season With Support From Illinois Arts Council Agency

ORLAND PARK, IL - Ballet 5:8’s tenth performance season is an exciting step back into normalcy as theaters across the country reopen and invite audiences to enjoy live art again. For the past ten years, Ballet 5:8 has created over 45 original works with a mission to engage communities in stories of life and faith through dance. For the fifth year in a row, an Illinois Arts Council Agency grant is helping the company continue their mission. Known largely by its shorthand name “Ballet 5:8,” nonprofit arts organization Ballet Five Eight NFP has been awarded a $17,550 grant for operating support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency (IACA). The grant will be partially supporting Ballet 5:8 operations between November 2021 and August 2022. 

For its special tenth anniversary shows, titled 10FOLD, Ballet 5:8 will bring fan favorites back to the stage, retelling narratives from the archives while unfolding the overarching story of a decade of innovative, breathtaking dance. Reflecting back on all Ballet 5:8 has accomplished in the past decade, Co-Founder, Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer, Julianna Rubio Slager shares, "for ten years our focus at Ballet 5:8 has been on creating accessible ballets that reach beyond trite fairytales and into the daily realities of our world. As a choreographer my goal is to distill complex themes into thoughtful, physical representations that speak to the deep emotions and truths that bind us together in a shared humanity. 10FOLD displays a wide tapestry of stories about life and faith. Each ballet in the performance will delight, challenge, charm and uplift. I hope that during this very tender time in our world, these masterful stories will inspire our audience to see beyond their singular experience and into a world of possibility." 

Making their debut at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago, Ballet 5:8 will host 10FOLD on March 12, 2022. This special milestone performance will include three 21/22 Season premieres by Slager, Gospel Impressions, Día de Los Vivos, and Toda Raba, alongside Ballet 5:8 fan favorites like Four Seasons of the Soul, The Mother, and Golden Sessions!

Additionally making its way across stages in Illinois is Ballet 5:8’s Reckless, which premiered in March 2021 at the historic Studebaker Theater in Chicago. Diving into social justice issues, Slager’s Reckless upends the stereotypes surrounding sex work. Based on the ancient story of Hosea and Gomer, Slager allows Gomer’s voice to narrate the tragic and misunderstood realities of human trafficking. Working in tandem with nonprofits who are actively fighting human-trafficking in local communities, Ballet 5:8 is bringing education about this modern-day tragedy directly to audiences at each performance. Five percent of ticket proceeds are also donated to partnering organizations to aid them in their pursuit of ending human-trafficking. Tickets for this season are available at ballet58.org or by calling 312-725-4752.

Thanks to continued funding from the IACA and other sources, Ballet 5:8 brings meaningful experiences with professional dance to more than 12,000 community members in the Chicago South Suburbs, Illinois and across the U.S. each season. Donated support allows Ballet 5:8 to employ talented professional dancing artists and choreographers, enables Ballet 5:8 to keep admission to ticketed performances to $30 on average, and donate tickets to veterans and other organizations. Support also partially subsidizes tuition for School of Ballet 5:8 programs and provides financial aid to students in need. While our country reopens and recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, accessibility to affordable live performances and dance education has remained an impactful part of Ballet 5:8’s mission. 

ABOUT BALLET 5:8 - Founded in 2012, Ballet 5:8 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization based in Orland Park, IL, just outside of Chicago. The mission of Ballet 5:8 is to engage communities in Chicago, the Midwest and across the nation in conversation of life and faith through innovative storytelling and breathtaking dance. Ballet 5:8 also promotes thriving artistic communities through dance performance and education.