March 14, ATLANTA – In a grey town where the rain falls continuously stands a man at a bus stop, on the brink of heaven and hell… Ballet 5:8 returns to Atlanta this March with an all-C.S. Lewis program of original dance. The mysterious, dreamlike bus stop is the setting for Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager’s acclaimed ballet The Space in Between, based on C.S. Lewis’ novel The Great Divorce. The program also features Meditations and Of Splendors & Horrors.
Two Atlanta performances will be held on Saturday, March 14 at 3:00 and 7:00pm at the KSU Dance Theatre, 1100 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060. Attendees are invited to remain for a post-performance Q&A on the main stage. Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for students and seniors, and $15 for children and can be purchased at ballet58.com/atlanta or by calling (312) 725-4752. Performance information is available at
ballet58.org/space-in-between.
Slager’s fantastical The Space in Between follows The Narrator on a bus ride between heaven and hell. In Lewis’ work, Hell is not a place where a vengeful God tortures His victims, but a place “where the gates are locked from the inside.” The ballet has been called “exceptionally well done” by Lauren Warnecke of See Chicago Dance. Ken Norris of WKTV Journal in Grand Rapids has said The Space in Between “does not disappoint” and that “Slager successfully uses the full strength of her dancers… as well as the thematic power of C.S. Lewis’ story The Great Divorce…”. According to Crystal Downing, Curator and Scholor of the C.S. Lewis Museum, The Wade Center, “After witnessing the beautiful solidity of professionally-trained dancers performing The Space Between, you will want to read Lewis’s novel in order to delight in the subtle ways that Ballet 5:8 transforms the word into flesh…”
Slager’s innovative adaptations of classic literature are one of the hallmarks of her work. According to Slager, “The Space in Between is edgy, contemporary and keeps you on the edge of your seat… The murky lighting of Greytown gives way to the growing illumination of the Valley,
which leads you to the brilliance of Heaven’s foothills…” Ballet 5:8 began touring nationally in 2014 and has delighted audiences from New York to New Mexico. As a female minority, Slager hopes that her leadership and creative work at Ballet 5:8 will pave the way for other diverse women in professional ballet.
ABOUT BALLET 5:8 – Founded in 2012, Ballet 5:8 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization based just outside of Chicago, IL. The mission of Ballet 5:8 is to engage communities in Chicago, the Midwest and across the nation in conversation of life and faith through innovative storytelling and breathtaking dance.
Contact: Lydia Benedict
Email: lbenedict@ballet58.org | Phone: 312-725-4752 | Web: ballet58.org
Video: https://youtu.be/ZXBXCZ1KZt0 | High-res images available by request
Release Date: December, 2019