There is something worth being thankful for when a world-class artistic experience isn’t something you have to drive downtown to find.
For 15 years, Ballet 5:8 has been building that kind of experience in the south suburbs, bringing professional ballet to Orland Park while creating opportunities for young dancers to learn, grow and discover the art form close to home. As the company celebrates its 15th anniversary season, its reach is extending farther than ever, even as its roots remain firmly planted in the communities around it.
Today, Ballet 5:8 trains more than 400 students each year, from age three through adulthood, through pre-professional and recreational programs at three campuses. The company also presents professional performances to more than 15,000 guests, bringing its original storytelling and professional dance to audiences throughout the Chicago region and beyond.
This season, that local connection has taken on an international dimension with the addition of Costa Rican dancer Ignacio Rivera to the professional company. Rivera has performed as a soloist and principal artist with companies including Columbia Classical Ballet, BalletNEXT, Balletto Nazionale Italiano and Connecticut Ballet.
His arrival gives local students the opportunity to learn from a professional artist whose career has taken him across the United States and Europe—without leaving their own community.
That exchange between the local and the international is central to Ballet 5:8’s identity. The company recently promoted Selah Strong to Preparatory Program Director, recognizing her work as a teacher and mentor helping young dancers develop technical and artistic skills alongside confidence, discipline and perseverance.
The organization’s commitment to access extends beyond its home studios, too. Ballet 5:8 operates more than 10 outreach campuses and partnerships throughout the region, bringing dance education to communities including Little Village and Chinatown, as well as local schools, park districts and community organizations.
Its influence is reaching the international ballet community as well. Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager and School Director Miranda Rubio Opsal recently traveled to Finland to present at Positioning Ballet, an international conference exploring the future of the art form. Their presentation focused on diversity, access and belonging, sharing Ballet 5:8’s experience creating meaningful pathways into ballet for dancers and audiences from a wide range of backgrounds.
For Executive Director Jeremy Slager, the opportunity represents a meaningful exchange.
“To see artists from around the world choosing to build their careers here while our own leaders are invited to influence international conversations about ballet is incredibly meaningful,” Jeremy says. “It demonstrates that artistic excellence and community impact can grow together.”
That philosophy has shaped Ballet 5:8 from the beginning. Through professional dance education, original story ballets and community partnerships, the company works to expand perceptions of who ballet is for while making exceptional artistic experiences available throughout the region.
“World-class ballet doesn’t only belong in major metropolitan centers,” Jeremy says. “We’re proud that the south suburbs are home to an organization attracting exceptional artists from around the world while investing deeply in the next generation of dancers right here in our own neighborhoods.”
After 15 years, Ballet 5:8’s story is one of connection: local students learning from professional artists, the south suburbs engaging with the wider world, and a centuries-old art form finding new generations of dancers and audiences.
Perhaps that is the most meaningful anniversary milestone of all: not simply bringing something exceptional to the community, but creating a place where it can grow.