Butterfly originally premiered in 2019 on the eve of the pandemic and is a captivating production that includes music composed in the haunting confines of the Jewish ghetto of Terezin. Julianna Rubio Slager’s choreography infuses the story with raw emotion and echoes the melodies of the score. The ballet also features artwork created by the children of Terezin projected on the backdrop and immerses the audience in the horror and persistent hope of the Holocaust.
Butterfly returns to Chicago on February 11th at the Logan Center in Hyde Park. Ellington Nichols, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, will play the role of Helga Weiss.
Butterfly shares a story of hope inspired by the collection of poems and artwork published as
I Never Saw Another Butterfly.
The ballet centers on the story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and her student Helga Weiss. These two remarkable women shine brightly through their art, embodying the indomitable spirit and unwavering hope that can flourish even amidst unimaginable darkness. Friedl, an inspirational art teacher, empowers her students to express their experiences through their art, capturing both their pain and the resilient sparks of hope that persist.
As the ballet unfolds, the spotlight shines on dancer Ellington Nichols, whose great-grandparents survived the Nazi concentration camps. She carries their legacy into each movement and honors their story of resilience.
One of the singular moments of the performance is at the end as the haunting strains of the Defiant Requiem reverberate through the theater, resonating with the courage and defiance of those who resisted oppression. Transported by the music, the dancers embody the boundless resilience of the human soul and honor the legacy of the lives lost and altered by the Holocaust.
Step into the transformative world of Butterfly, where the harmonious fusion of music, dance, and visual art creates an unforgettable and deeply moving experience. Immerse yourself in a story that illuminates the enduring power of hope and the triumphant resilience of the human spirit.
Premiere: October 2019
Choreography: Julianna Slager
Costumes: Lorianne Robertson
“Slager draws from Dicker-Brandeis’ spirit—the art teacher, whose secret instruction of children in the ghetto is considered among the origins of expressive art therapies, died in Auschwitz—to create a sense of optimism and hope amongst the cast. That, I was not expecting, nor was I expecting to enjoy a balletic treatment of this weighty topic. Ballet 5:8, after all, is not just another dance company.”
“I loved it! It was so relevant. If you’ve never seen a ballet before, START HERE. This will capture your heart.”
“Butterfly is a compelling and deeply immersive portrayal of the victory of the human spirit, armed with faith, over the cruelest of human atrocities. The choreography is innovative, the costuming provoking, and the storytelling breathtaking. The Ballet 5:8 artists have presented the world with an irreplaceable gift: a courageously stunning and immediately impactful invitation into the lives and hearts of those men, women, and children who battled the deepest wounds of body, mind, and heart
at the WWII Theresienstadt ghetto and concentration camp.”
“The various artworks left behind by this great woman and the children of Terezin are their legacy to the present, to all of us today. They demand that we continue in our quest for a society that truly treasures human life, transcending all differences of race, religion, politics and ideology….”