Beauty. Art. Expression. All are meant to reflect the goodness and the design of the Creator. And when approached with a heart desiring to reflect this goodness, we learn more about ourselves as creation.

This is what Olivia Kruse has learned through her experience as a professional ballet dancer with a Christian ballet company in Chicago. In this interview with Radiant, Kruse shares not only how she has learned to glorify God and relate to God through dance, but what dance — and specifically ballet — reveals about the design of the human person. In essence, she shares her understanding of the theology of the body of ballet.

Julianna Rubio Slager is co-founder and artistic director of professional dance company, Ballet 5:8 based out of Chicago. Her vision in establishing the company was to bring more dialogue of hope to the Chicago art scene. She serves as resident choreographer with a mission bring something significant to the audience that would otherwise remain veiled through thought provoking and breath taking dance. With their spring tours getting canceled, Ballet 5:8 is hosting online performances of their work. Click here to RSVP to their critically acclaimed performance of "Butterfly" about the Jewish artists who were held in the same concentration camp during WW2. It's available April 19-21st for viewing w/ tickets being on a pay what you can basis to help cover the wages of the dancers for their canceled season due to COVID-19. https://www.ballet58.org/butterfly

Jordan Raynor sits down with Julianna Slager, Co-founder of Ballet 5:8, to talk about how her team uses ballet to engage people in conversations about faith, the remarkable parallels between her own story and the story of Beth Pearson, the fictional character from the hit show, This is Us on NBC, and why she’s all in on this concept of being a “master of one.” You can follow Julianna's work on Instagram at @JuliannaSlager.

Creating a masterpiece can take a lifetime. There is a certain process in crafting each detail that cannot be rushed, but in a world of limited time and tight funding, modern day artists have been forced to find creative ways to make the best of their resources. This is especially true in the world of dance, where choreographers are tasked not only with making movement to communicate their stories and ideas, but must also make considerations for the perfect musical score, costuming, and lighting and stage design. So how do dance makers begin to approach the task of bringing all of these elements to life on stage? Consider the masterpieces that Artistic Director Julianna Slager has created for her company, Ballet 5:8. Since the company’s founding in 2012, Julianna has worked to nurture her creative process to produce a number of works that had the dancers touring nationally just two years later. This is no small achievement for any body of performing artists – many spend five years or more in their home cities before the possibility of presenting work across the country is even on the table. It speaks volumes to the quality, originality, and artistic and technical prowess both choreographer and dancers bring into the theater.