When Master's Dance Academy founder Alyssa Chirch stopped by Ballet 5:8's studios to attend a ballet class one night last year, Ballet 5:8 Executive Director Amy Sanderson was thrilled to meet her. Though Master's Dance Academy and Ballet 5:8 are different in many ways, the former a small local dance ministry, and the latter a nine-member professional performing company with a classical ballet training school attended by over 150 students annually, the two organizations share a heart and passion to pursue the art form of dance with excellence from the basis of Christian faith.
To celebrate this shared mission and make it accessible to the greater Valparaiso community, Master's Dance Academy will be hosting a performance by Ballet 5:8 on Sunday, April 19th at 3:00pm. Held in the gym at Victory Christian Academy in Valparaiso, the performance will feature a presentation by students of Master's followed by a full-length performance of one of Ballet 5:8's poignant narrative ballets, The Story of Job. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children 12 and under and are available at Ballet58.org or at the door on the day of the performance. Proceeds support Ballet 5:8 and Master's Dance Academy, both nonprofit organizations.
A Chicago-based Christian professional ballet company in its third performing season, Ballet 5:8 counts The Story of Job: When Bad Things Happen to Good People as one of its most beloved and popular ballets. Since its premiere in 2014, this breathtaking neoclassical story ballet has captivated audiences with its awe-inspiring virtuosity mixed with a relatable, heartfelt message. The ballet, with original choreography by Ballet 5:8 Artistic Director Julianna Slager, imagines the ancient Biblical story of Job in a modern day setting and follows Job and his children on a journey where Job loses everything. As we see glimpses of conversations between God and the Accuser, we have the opportunity to join Job as he wrestles with these losses and questions his relationship toward a God who seems to have forsaken him - or has He?
About Ballet 5:8 - Founded in 2012, Ballet 5:8 operates based on a mission to employ artistic ingenuity, innovation and excellence as a means to celebrate the exchange of ideas in the creative realm. The nonprofit organization's ongoing commitment is to the creation and performance of new, abstract and narrative works from the unique basis of its Christian faith, and to the development and creative exploration of the dancing artists, choreographers and composers of the day. Ballet 5:8's goal is to serve as a catalyst for genuine discussion of life and faith with audiences and artists alike, in the context of breathtaking dance performance.