Chicago ballet school to celebrate Black, Latina artists
Chicago's Ballet 5:8 highlights Black, Latina women in spring performance
Ballet 5:8 will be celebrating the contributions of women of color in the arts with an upcoming performance.
CHICAGO - Right at the intersection of Black History Month and Women’s History month, comes a ballet that celebrates Latina and Black Women in the arts.
Fox 32's Roseanne Tellez has the story.
Celebrating women of color
What we know:
Juliana Rubio-Slager is the Artistic Director and Choreographer behind BALLET 5:8’s "Struggle and Resistance", which takes place at The Kehrein Center for the Arts in the Austin neighborhood on March 1.
"This is the perfect time to celebrate the contributions of so many minority women in the arts," she said.
The performance features, ballet, contemporary and street dance along with the spoken word.
Taking inspiration
What they're saying:
Rubio-Slager is especially excited about a dance inspired by poet Maya Angelou.
"Maya is just incredible and the script is actually written by a Black playwright Kady Debelak from the North Side of Chicago. She took Maya’s words and turned them into an entire play, and I was privileged to choreograph to it," she said.
Struggle and Resilience also features former New York City Ballet dancer Rachel Hutsell, Spoken Word Artist and author Quina Aragon, street dance artist Britany Bradley, contemporary dancer Silvita Diaz Brown, and choreographer Tobin James.
What's next:
The performance is a part of the Neighborhood Access Program from DCASE and will be the first ever ballet performed in the Austin neighborhood.