Journey with Ms. Abi Gardner

Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts Children & Youth Division Director

Ms. Abi as most students at Ballet 5:8 School of Arts know her, has been at Ballet 5:8 since its inception in 2012. Abi started at Ballet 5:8 as an instructor and one of the Trainees. She was in the Trainee program for three years. However, Abi did not have an extensive background in classical ballet training before beginning the Trainee program and had to work a lot harder than her classmates by taking extra classes to relearn the elementary techniques and steps of ballet. Abi did not only train and teach at Ballet 5:8 but was also supporting herself as she had moved back to the United States in 2012 after living with her family for most of her childhood in Bolivia. After a few years in the Trainee program, as an instructor, touring, and working full-time Abi was drained and felt God leading her to make a decision about where to focus her time.

When Abi was finishing high school she learned that she loved teaching and desired to be a teacher in the arts. As she moved to the United States in 2012 her plans were to eventually go to Germany and enroll in a program that focused on the modern dance technique and teaching. However, God opened up the opportunity for her to join Ballet 5:8 as an instructor and Trainee. In 2013, Abi became the Children’s Division Director and in 2016 she took on the Children’s & Youth Division Director role and hung up her pointe shoes at the end of the 2014/15 season. Abi is passionate about raising up the next generation of dancers at Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts. Abi wants young dancers to know, “work hard now! Time is very precious, ballet is an intense career. Training and technique in ballet are constantly improving and growing, if you want to be a professional dancer you need to be ready to work hard and sacrifice”.

Journey with Libby Dennen

Senior Apprentice with Ballet 5:8 professional company

         Libby is a Senior Apprentice in Ballet 5:8’s professional company. Libby has been dancing at Ballet 5:8 since its inception in 2012. She started in Level 4A and got placed in the Conservatory for two years after it was formed in 2014, she then trained as a Trainee for one year during the 2016/17 season. For the 2017/18 season she was asked to join the professional company as an Apprentice and at the age of 18, she is now a Senior Apprentice at Ballet 5:8. Libby is an example of what Ballet 5:8 School of Arts hopes and aspires for all of their students who want to take their ballet training seriously.

    Libby did not see the plan God had for her to be a part of Ballet 5:8’s professional company when she was training throughout high school. She thought she would finish the Trainee program and high school and move on to another company. God has shown Libby that it is His plan for her to stay here, as He has not called her to go somewhere else. Libby wants younger dancers to know, “embrace the things that make you unique. Don’t focus on what the other people look like in your class. Focus on how God made you and what He gave you. There are unique things to everyone”.

Journey with Zoe Scheiderich

Conservatory student at Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts 

Zoe dances in Ballet 5:8’s School of the Arts program at the Conservatory 2 level. Zoe has danced at Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts since its inception in 2012 but had to take a hiatus for a couple of years as her family had to move away from Chicagoland. However, God had a plan for Zoe to come back to Ballet 5:8. Zoe moved away from her family in the summer of 2017 and moved in with Ballet 5:8’s co-founder and Artistic Director, Julianna Rubio Slager and her family. As a teenager who just started her freshman year in high school, this was a huge transition and leap of faith for Zoe and her family.

Zoe and her family knew she was bound to become a ballerina since she was three years old and began dancing. She has worked hard and committed herself to serious training. Zoe enjoys dancing at Ballet 5:8 because she is supported by a diverse community that helps her grow spiritually as well as a dancer. She realizes her uniqueness and finds strength in her differences as a minority in the dance community. She wants young dancers to know, “if you’re young it’s easy to get wrapped up in the dance lifestyle and forget about God. This art form is draining and amazing, but you have to hold on to God. You can’t put God in a box. He can make anything happen because He created the universe.”