Walking toward the Studebaker Theater for Ballet 5:8’s premiere of Reckless, you couldn’t escape the gravity of this moment. The marquis of the Auditorium Theatre reads the sad statement of our times, #OneYearDark. One year of careers on pause, one year stepping back from performance art to focus on survival. But on this day, as the first signs of spring peer out through the dirt, you could also experience the first signs of the return of the arts.

As many theaters around the nation remain dark, Ballet 5:8 sheds light on a different kind of darkness: the reality of modern day slavery. Ballet 5:8 Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager’s newest full length ballet Reckless premieres at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago on Saturday, March 13.

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.

Ballet 5:8 presents Beyond the Nutcracker in-person and online this December, bringing the joy of the Christmas season to communities in the Chicago South Suburbs and around the world.

“With a moving score featuring composers John Adams, Oliver Davis, and Ezio Bosso, lovely classical choreography, and superb performances by the cast, I expect Golden Sessions will offer a fresh and uplifting experience for Ballet 5:8 fans and newbies alike, regardless of their interest in Lewis or literature.” - Executive Director Emeritus Amy Sanderson

Ballet 5:8’s Ninth performance season is not looking anything like the company had originally planned 10 months ago, but an Illinois Arts Council Agency grant is helping the company press forward, even into uncharted territory.

Ballet 5:8’s Fall Black Box Series marks a monumental return to the live stage after theaters around the world abruptly went dark last March. On the heels of a successful outdoor program held in local parks and Ballet 5:8’s own “backyard” in August and September, the October Fall Series will feature brand new works by Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager and returning works by Slager and guest choreographer Kevin Jenkins.

“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.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the rhythm of our everyday lives. Ballet 5:8 is responding by launching a new online dance education platform, Ballet 5:8 NOW, that takes the company’s trusted dance education programs online and into the homes of aspiring dancers around the world.

Just like in the rest of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has had countless impacts in the dance community as dance companies and schools have closed their physical spaces and gone virtual. Nonetheless, amid weeks and months of dancers taking classes in their kitchens and living rooms, there has been a silver lining: when you take class online, the possibilities for collaboration are limitless.

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.