Super surprised and happy.
That was the reaction from Alice Duncan, 16, of Plainfield, when she learned she would be playing the lead role in Ballet 5:8’s holiday production of “Beyond The Nutcracker.”

Just as “The Nutcracker” is a beloved holiday tradition around the world, “Beyond the Nutcracker” has been an annual favorite for Orland Park’s Ballet 5:8. But a unique year that has presented unique challenges is leading to a new spin on an old favorite.

Ballet 5:8 is just days into a run of its version of a Christmas classic that’s venturing into the online realm for the first time.

ORLAND PARK, IL – Ballet 5:8 has moved its nationally-recognized professional performing company and dance education center from its seven-year home in Frankfort, IL, to a newly remodeled 12,000 square foot building in Orland Park, IL. The new location, just minutes from I-80 and LaGrange Road and a 35-minute drive from downtown Chicago, is a step up from the company’s previous home and includes five state of the art studios and a dedicated cross-training studio, plus added space and amenities for the company’s 13 professional dancers, expanding local student population, and administrative staff. The new and larger studios will allow Ballet 5:8 to continue to increase the size of its professional performing company - which was recently called the “suburbs’ best kept dance secret” by See Chicago Dance Editor Lauren Warnecke - over time. The new building will also foster continued growth for Ballet 5:8’s education programs for all ages which include hundreds of after-school classes, adult dance and fitness classes, monthly workshops for special needs dancers, and a range of intensives and conferences that attract students, choreographers and dance education leaders from across the country during the summer months. A ribbon cutting ceremony at Ballet 5:8’s new location, facilitated by the Orland Park Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Thursday, February 21 from 5-7pm and is open to the public.