CL Critic Kevin C. Madigan Recommends:With Mexican-American Artistic Director Julianna Rubio Slager at the helm, Chicago-based Ballet 5:8 creates dances drawing from life, faith, literature and current events “to tell relevant and relatable stories of the 21st century,” the dance company says. BareFace is based on C.S. Lewis’ final novel, Till We Have Faces, reimagining the classic myth of Cupid and Psyche from a female perspective in honor of Women’s History Month. As one of the only extant ballets set in a post-apocalyptic world, BareFace features a set design made of 95 percent recycled materials, handmade Grecian and futuristic costumes, and a dress spanning the entire stage. Rubio Slager is grandly described as “a groundbreaking figure empowering minority women to command space in the professional ballet scene” who in BareFace will “examine love’s motivations, pitfalls and blind spots.” Taking place in the Grecian fairytale world of Glome, audiences “can expect to be gripped by the dynamic storytelling through the impressive athletic prowess of Ballet 5:8’s dance artists.” — KCM
From the venue:
Love has been the muse for all manner of myths, legends, movies and poems throughout the ages. Often held as the greatest of all virtues, love can even be said to be the bridge from mortals to the divine. But is it truly so? Rubio Slager will use the myth of Cupid and Psyche to examine love’s motivations, pitfalls and blind spots.
The story begs us to look inward at our desire for love and to ask whether or not we honestly understand the depths of our own hearts. We remain faceless until we are brave enough to look staunchly upon the ugliness of our duplicitous motives. We become beautiful when we release jealousy and embrace the truly selfless love of the divine. Set in the Grecian fairytale world of Glome, audiences can expect to be gripped by the dynamic storytelling through the impressive athletic prowess of Ballet 5:8’s dance artists. The full-length story ballet is brought to life by costume designer Lorianne Robertson and projections by Sarah L. Freeman.
CL RECOMMENDS