By K.D. Norris
Those who attended the Chicago-based Ballet 5:8 in performance last year at Grand Rapids Christian High School’s DeVos Center for the Arts and Worship probably wished the group visited more often.
Those who didn’t attend will get a chance to see what they missed and what they can now look forward to in the future as on Saturday, Oct. 6, the group returns to the venue with the world premier of “The Space in Between”.
Ballet 5:8 artistic director Julianna Rubio Slager’s newest work draws inspiration from “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis, using Ballet 5:8’s subtle blend of religious storytelling and cutting-edge dance to “explore the nature of eternity and the joy found on its shores,” according to supplied material.
Among the Ballet 5:8 dancers set to perform in Grand Rapids is company artist Emily Ratkos, an alumna of the Grand Rapids Ballet School. Ratkos moved to Grand Rapids at the age of 16 to train under Attila Mosolygo before joining Ballet 5:8 as a trainee in 2016. She joined Ballet 5:8 as an apprentice in 2017 and was promoted to company artist this year.
Now in its 7th season of performance, the dance group also premiered a new work last season: “Compass: Navigating Cultural Tension with Compassion”. Ballet 5:8 tours nationally each season to provide audiences with “a unique opportunity to engage in conversation on relevant life and faith topics addressed in the company’s repertoire.”
In their home of Chicago, Kristi Licera of Dancermusic.com called Ballet 5:8’s “Compass” work as “an evening of inspired choreography and thought-provoking performance,” and Kristian Jamie of San Antonio’s March Magazine called Ballet 5:8’s Scarlet an “effortless” adaptation of classic literature through a combination of film, spoken word and ballet.
In New York City, Pilar Garcia, mime coach at Gelsey Kirkland Ballet and Academy, said that, in “Compass”, Slager “deftly weaves the emotional questions that live on after such hard choices are made no matter the reasons.”
WKTV reviewed the local performance of ‘Compass’ as well
Ballet 5:8’s two-act program at Grand Rapids pairs the world premiere of “The Space in Between” and a re-creation of a Ballet 5:8’s signature work, “Four Seasons of the Soul”.
Slager, talking in supplied information about “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis, calls it “a timeless and timely work of literature that deserves a fresh, 21st century revisiting.” The work “invites audiences into a riveting story that begins in a grey town where the rain falls continuously, where a man stands at a bus stop on the brink of heaven and hell.” In Lewis’ work, hell is not a place where a vengeful God tortures his victims, but a place where, according to Lewis, “the gates are locked from the inside.”
Also featured in the program, “Four Seasons of the Soul”, explores how the turning of the seasons in nature parallels the recurring themes of human life — the innocence of youth, the zeal of adolescence, the celebrations and tragedies of adulthood, and the coming winter of life — all using Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”.
A single Grand Rapids performance will be held on Saturday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m., at the Devos Center for Arts and Worship, 2300 Plymouth Avenue Southeast. There will be a post-performance discussion with Slager and troupe members on the performance. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and $12 for children. Tickets can be purchased at ballet58.org or by calling 312-725-4752.
Additional performance information is available at ballet58.org/space-in-between and a video of the company at work is available here.
