Julianna
Rubio Slager
A Chicago-based Chicana choreographer creating contemporary and narrative ballets distinguished by musical architecture, theatrical clarity, and an expressive use of the ensemble.
The individual within the collective.
At the center of Julianna Rubio Slager's choreography is a recurring relationship: the singular human experience set against the scale and force of the collective.
A corps de ballet may move as one body, establishing a social order or gathering momentum through repetition. Within that structure, an individual breaks away, interrupts the pattern, or alters the direction of the group.
Her work moves between sweeping ensemble compositions and closely observed moments of human interaction. Classical line, contemporary weight, intricate partnering, and precise musical phrasing give each ballet its physical language.
Informed by her Chicana heritage and experiences as a woman and mother, Rubio Slager draws on literature, cultural memory, history, and the complexity of human relationships. Her ballets move between narrative and abstraction, allowing gesture, rhythm, and spatial relationships to carry meaning.
About the Artist →Works
La Llorona
A full-length ballet that revisits the Mexican legend through motherhood, postpartum depression, and the isolation of a woman whose suffering goes unrecognized.
The Curious Life of Edgar Allan Poe
A theatrical portrait of Edgar Allan Poe, incorporating movement, spoken word, and music by American composers. Co-choreographed with Glorielle Niedfeldt.
The Lost Women of Juárez
A response to the disappearances and murders of women in Ciudad Juárez. Individual dancers vanish from the ensemble, leaving the remaining women to carry their absence.
Women Who Carry Water
A new ensemble ballet shaped by women's oral histories and community story circles. Set to Caroline Shaw's To the Hands. World premiere in April 2027.
From the intimate to the monumental.
Rubio Slager's choreographic practice encompasses both Zoe — the expansive movement of life at large — and Bios, the particular experience of a single life.
These two perspectives inform the scale of her work: large ensembles moving through complex patterns, interrupted by a gesture, a glance, or the weight of one dancer held by another.
Classical ballet shaped by contemporary dynamics, shifting weight, suspension, and culturally rooted rhythms.
Ensemble architecture, counterpoint, repetition, and the contrast between collective and individual movement.
Physical relationships and theatrical images that allow audiences to encounter a character's inner life without relying on literal mime.
Choreographic Reel
Julianna
Rubio Slager
Julianna Rubio Slager is a Mexican-American choreographer and the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Ballet Five Eight, a professional ballet company based in the Chicago area.
Since co-founding the company in 2012, she has created more than 70 original ballets, including 19 full-length works. Her repertoire encompasses literary adaptations, culturally rooted narratives, and contemporary ensemble works.
Her choreographic practice reflects a sustained interest in the expressive possibilities of classical technique and in expanding the range of stories represented on the ballet stage.
Full Biography →Selected distinctions
2023 National Visiting Fellow
2023 Finalist
Individual Artist Program Award
“Rubio-Slager's choreography flows like chimes; even when the wind has passed the beauty, the interaction lingers.”D'onminique Boyd-Riley · See Chicago Dance ↗
Commissions & Collaboration
Choreography
Original commissions, repertoire staging, and collaborative projects for professional companies, second companies, trainees, and universities.
Explore the Repertoire →Teaching
Ballet master classes, choreographic residencies, and coaching centered on musicality, technical precision, and individual artistry.
Teaching →Speaking
Lectures and conversations on choreography, cultural identity, women in artistic leadership, and building institutions in dance.
Speaking →
Work with
Julianna
For choreographic commissions, repertoire staging, teaching engagements, speaking invitations, and professional collaborations. info@ballet58.org