Valparaiso Ribbon Cutting for Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts
VALPARAISO, IN – “We are thrilled to be serving the Valparaiso area community through high-quality dance classes from a Christian perspective” says Rachel Miller, the Director of Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts Valparaiso Campus. Though Ballet 5:8 has been teaching in Valparaiso since 2016, this fall marks a new chapter for the dance school since outgrowing its former home in a church basement. The Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Ballet 5:8’s new studio at 1155 Marsh Street on Wednesday, October 14 at 4:30pm. The ceremony is free and open to the public; due to social distancing requirements, RSVP is required at ow.ly/2HFD50BIj2A. Learn more about the Valparaiso Campus at school.ballet58.org/valparaiso.
Valparaiso Grand Opening for Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts
VALPARAISO, IN – "[Ballet 5:8] has helped foster a passion for dance that will stick with the kids, not just be a part of a phase in their childhood,” says Andrea Richart, whose daughter and son both attend classes at Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts’ Valparaiso Campus. Ballet 5:8, a faith-based nonprofit, has been offering dance lessons in a church in Valparaiso since 2016, but… This fall, classes will begin in a new location, a freshly remodeled 22’ x 33’ professional studio at 1155 Marsh Street! Classes begin Monday, August 24, and free trials for new students are ongoing - information is available at school.ballet58.org/Valparaiso or by calling 219-249-1188.
Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts Bringing Hope to Households Through Dance
March 31, ORLAND PARK - “Shelter-in-place” has turned life upside down across the South Suburbs, but Ballet 5:8 is providing an incredible online program that gives students a bit of normal in the midst of the chaos. Nonprofit Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts provides dance education for over 400 students in the Chicago south suburbs and northwest Indiana, and the studio has become a second home to many of them. So when in-person classes were postponed due to COVID-19, the staff at Ballet 5:8 made an ambitious change -- they would transform their organization to meet the changing needs of their students.
Ballet 5:8 Celebrates 5th Anniversary of “Beyond the Nutcracker”
November 14, 2019 ORLAND PARK, IL – As the holidays approach, the sounds of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet score are drifting through Ballet 5:8 studios in anticipation of performances this December - for a fifth year in a row. Ballet School of the Arts, the dance education center of professional performing company Ballet 5:8, originally premiered its signature rendition of The Nutcracker in 2015. Since it’s premiere, the ballet has warmed the hearts of thousands of audience members each year thanks to its delightful combination of classic Nutcracker tradition and the joy of the very first Christmas.
Ballet 5:8 Official School to Bring Full-Length Story Ballet to Lincoln Way West
April 16, 2019 ORLAND PARK, IL – Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts, the official school of professional performing company Ballet 5:8 and a recipient of a 2018-2019 season grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, will bring a full-length classical ballet titled The Wayward Daughter to the Chicago South Suburbs this Mother’s Day weekend. The original production will feature up-and-coming artists from the school’s nationally-recognized advanced classical ballet training programs, charming Children’s Cast members from 25+ area communities, custom-designed costumes, dramatic classical music, and choreography by Ballet 5:8 Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager.
Ballet 5:8 Makes a New Home in Orland Park, IL
January 23, 2019 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.
The Nutcracker With a Ballet 5:8 Twist Returns to New Lenox This December
Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts, the dance education center of professional performing company Ballet 5:8, will bring its signature rendition of The Nutcracker to Lincoln Way West High School on December 15-16 2018. Ballet 5:8, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Frankfort, is dedicated to engaging communities in Chicago, the Midwest and across the nation in conversation of life and faith through innovative storytelling and breathtaking dance. The company’s Beyond the Nutcracker features 150 local cast members from its nationally-recognized classical ballet training programs, all custom-designed costumes and sets, and lead roles danced by guest artists from the Ballet 5:8 professional company including Lead Artists Antonio Rosario and Brette Benedict, and Company Artist Sam Opsal. This Ballet 5:8 twist on the classic Nutcracker invites audiences to join Emma for a magical adventure that leads from World War II London to the very first Christmas.
Ballet 5:8’s School Creates Brand-New Story Ballet on Pilgrim’s Progress
April 18, 2018 FRANKFORT, IL – People who are new to Ballet 5:8 will often ask where we “get” our story ballets. One person once asked specifically if we buy them, just like a theatre group would purchase the music and licensing rights to perform, for example, a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. In short, the answer is no! The creation of brand-new work is one of the very core aspects of Ballet 5:8’s mission to engage communities in conversation of life and faith through innovative storytelling and breathtaking dance. Our ballets - including Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts’ newest project, Pilgrim’s Progress - are concepted, choreographed, designed and staged completely from our main studios in Frankfort, IL.