The ballet began with a simple question.
What if our first instinct towards those who suffer was compassion instead of judgment?
The Mother brings to life the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks,
“Believe me, I loved you all.
Believe me, I knew you, though faintly, and I loved, I loved you
All.”
"The ambitious undertaking of giving visual voice to the exploration of being an ‘almost Mother,’ but making the very personal and private choice not be, and then, tracking the ramifications from that decision is the subject of Ballet 5:8’s sensitive and articulate "The Mother." From the perspective of a ‘present time,’ choreographer Julianna Rubio Slager, deftly weaves the emotional questions that live on after such hard choices are made no matter the reasons. And she is fortunate to have in the lead role the artistic power of Lorianne (Barclay) Robertson, who dances in seamless clarity through this landscape of present pondering replete with lingering longings for lost lives and loves."
- Pilar Garcia, Former acting coach to Gelsey Kirkland, on Ballet 5:8’s “The Mother”