Ballet 5:8 Brings Re-Imagined C.S. Lewis to Fort Wayne

CHICAGO – Now in its 7th performance season, Ballet 5:8 returns to Fort Wayne this November 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. A single Fort Wayne performance will be held on Saturday, November 3 at 7:00pm at First Presbyterian Theater, 300 W. Wayne St. Attendees are invited to attend a post-performance Q&A. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and $12 for children. 

Ballet 5:8 tours nationally each season and has a reputation for providing audiences with a unique opportunity to engage in conversation on relevant life and faith topics based on the company’s repertoire. Ballet 5:8 has been called “spectacular and mature” by the Elgin Review’s Jeffrey Pierce, and Slager’s choreography “consistently imaginative” by Ken Norris of WKTV Journal in Grand Rapids. In Chicago, Kristi Licera of Dancermusic.com called Ballet 5:8’s Compass “an evening of inspired choreography and thought-provoking performance,” and Kristian Jamie of March Magazine, San Antonio, called Ballet 5:8’s Scarlet an “effortless” adaptation of classic literature. In New York City, renowned mime coach Pilar Garcia noted that in Compass, Slager “deftly weaves the emotional questions that live on after such hard choices are made no matter the reasons.”

According to Slager, The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis is a timeless and timely work of literature that deserves a fresh, 21st century revisiting. Ballet 5:8’s world premiere The Space in Between invites audiences into a riveting story that begins in a grey town where the rain falls continuously, where a man stands at a bus stop on the brink of heaven and hell. In Lewis’ work, Hell is not a place where a vengeful God tortures his victims, but a place where, according to Lewis, “the gates are locked from the inside.” The Space in Between invites audience members from any faith background or opinion to consider this fascinating premise as they watch the story unfold in its vivid, imaginative setting.

Also featured in the program will be Four Seasons of the Soul, a poignant Ballet 5:8 audience favorite. Seasons explores how the turning of the seasons in nature parallels the recurring themes of human life. With vivid color and emotion, the work paints a moving picture of the soft innocence of youth, the impassioned zeal of adolescence, the celebrations and tragedies of adulthood, and the coming winter of life’s final chapter. Using an arrangement of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Slager lets this classic work influence and inspire yet another generation as it strikes the deep chords of humanity and nature in harmony.  

Ballet 5:8 Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer Julianna Rubio Slager is a co-founder of the company and brings a wealth of experience to her work. Beginning in 2014, Ballet 5:8 began touring nationally, bringing Slager's critically acclaimed ballets such as Scarlet, The Stor(ies) of You and Me, and Compass to audiences across the nation. Slager is also a groundbreaking figure within the field, as one of the few Mexican-American Artistic Directors and Resident Choreographers of professional ballet companies in the world. She hopes that her leadership and creative work at Ballet 5:8 will pave the way for other women and minorities in professional ballet.

Among the Ballet 5:8 dancers performing in Fort Wayne is Company Artist Olivia Kruse, an alumna of Fort Wayne’s Project Ballet (formerly New American Youth Ballet) under Artistic Director Beth McLeish. Kruse went on to earn a BFA in Ballet and a BS in Psychology from the University of Utah’s School of Dance and joined Ballet 5:8 in 2016.

Ballet 5:8’s return to the First Presbyterian Theater is the company’s third performance on the historic venue since 2015, and the company’s fourth tour to Fort Wayne. Ballet 5:8’s Fort Wayne debut came in 2013 with the world premiere of The Story of Job. In 2015, Ballet 5:8 had its debut at the First Presbyterian Theater with another full-length work, Belteshazzar: A Perilous Tale, set to a score by Benjamin Britten. Ballet 5:8’s 2018 Fort Wayne performance is made possible in part through the support of local radio stations Star 88.3 and Bott Radio Network.