Challenging Who Ballet Is For and What It Can Say
Join Ballet 5:8 on September 26, 2026 for an evening celebrating the artists, students, audiences, and communities helping redefine what ballet can be in Chicago and the South Suburbs.
Free to attend. RSVP required.
This year’s Gala is free with required RSVP because access is central to our mission. Guests will be invited to give during the evening to sustain Ballet 5:8’s artists, school programs, performances, and new work.
Reserve Your PlaceGive today.
Even if you cannot join us in person, your gift still helps make the Gala possible. Your generosity supports Ballet 5:8’s artists, students, outreach programs, performances, and new work across Chicago and the South Suburbs.
A gift today helps keep the evening free to attend while sustaining the work our community gathers to celebrate.
Who Is Ballet 5:8?
Ballet 5:8 is a professional ballet company and arts education organization serving Chicago and the South Suburbs through performances, school residencies, touring productions, community partnerships, and training programs.
Why This Work Matters
We believe dance matters because it forms students, sustains artists, strengthens communities, and makes space for stories that help people see differently.
Dance gives students more than steps.
Dance teaches discipline, collaboration, focus, confidence, creativity, and resilience. It gives students a way to communicate ideas and emotions that are not always easy to put into words.
For many young people, access to dance is access to mentorship, structure, expression, and belonging.
Communities need shared experiences.
Live performance gathers people across age, background, neighborhood, and belief. In a fragmented culture, shared artistic experiences help communities feel more connected.
Ballet 5:8 brings high-level dance into theaters, schools, community centers, churches, and studios throughout the region.
Artists need sustainable careers.
A healthy region needs performers, educators, choreographers, musicians, designers, technicians, and cultural spaces where people can gather.
Supporting Ballet 5:8 helps sustain the creative infrastructure that makes a community vibrant.
Stories shape what we imagine possible.
Ballet 5:8 creates original work that engages questions of identity, belonging, justice, faith, grief, hope, and human dignity while remaining rooted in the technical excellence of classical ballet.
We challenge who ballet is for, where it belongs, and what it can say.
Onstage and In Community
From major Chicago stages to school access programs, Ballet 5:8 works to make excellent dance visible, relevant, and reachable.
“Like the life cycle of the butterfly, Rubio Slager and her long-standing women-led team are aligned and committed to actualizing change in their labors of love and in society.”D’onminique Boyd-Riley, See Chicago Dance
“Often, when an artistic entity is in service of an ideology, the art suffers. With Ballet 5:8, both seem to nourish and enhance each other. The dancing was polished and delightful, and came across as a breath of fresh air.”Lynn Colburn Shapiro, See Chicago Dance
The Reality
Ticket sales alone do not cover the true cost of professional dance. Giving keeps the work excellent, regional, and accessible.
Per Seat
If tickets reflected the full cost of professional ballet, each seat would need to be around $100 or more. We would never be able to do outreach, since those are often completely free to the schools.
Sellout Needed
Even at that price, every performance would need to sell out.
Bridge the Gap
Donations make accessibility possible for students, families, and first-time audiences.
Are Welcome
Great art should not be reserved only for those who can afford the full cost.
Evening Flow
A beautiful night with a clear purpose: gather, celebrate, and give.
Cocktail Hour
Arrive, connect, and enjoy the start of the evening.
Vision Dinner
Hear what your generosity makes possible and give a gift to Ballet 5:8.
Dancing + Live Music
Celebrate with the Ballet 5:8 community, meet the dancers and staff.
Sponsor the Gala
Sponsorship keeps the evening accessible while advancing Ballet 5:8’s mission.
Table Sponsorship
- Reserved table with your company name for 8
- Recognition in the printed program
- Recognition on the Ballet 5:8 website
- Recognition across social media
Community Sponsorship
- Recognition in the printed program
- Recognition on the Ballet 5:8 website
- Recognition on social media
Reserve your seat. Come ready to give.
The Gala is free to attend, but it is not free to produce. Your generosity keeps artists working, students learning, and high-level dance programming accessible across Chicago and the South Suburbs.
Gala FAQ
Is the Gala really free?
Yes. The Gala is free to attend, but RSVP is required. Guests will be invited to give during the evening.
Why not charge for tickets?
We want our entire community to be able to attend the Gala. Please come prepared to give an amount that is significant to you in order to support Ballet 5:8.
Where is the Gala?
Elements by Odyssey in Orland Park. 16235 South La Grange Rd Orland Park, IL 60467.
Can my business sponsor the Gala?
Yes. Businesses, community groups, families, and individuals are invited to sponsor. Table Sponsorship is $1,500 and Community Sponsorship is $750.