Artist. Choreographer. Director.
Mexican-American choreographer and Co-Founder of Ballet Five Eight, based in Chicago.
Julianna Rubio Slager
Julianna Rubio Slager is a Mexican-American choreographer, artistic director, and educator. She is the Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and Resident Choreographer of Ballet Five Eight, a professional ballet company based in the Chicago region.
Since establishing Ballet Five Eight in 2012, she has choreographed more than 70 original ballets, including 19 full-length works. Her repertoire encompasses literary adaptations, contemporary ensemble works, and ballets informed by Mexican-American history and cultural experience.
Her productions have toured nationally, and her work has been presented at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago and at theaters throughout the United States.
Rubio Slager was selected as a National Visiting Fellow at the School of American Ballet in 2023 and was a finalist for the Chicago Dancemakers Forum award that same year. She received a DCASE Individual Artist Award in 2015.
In addition to choreographing, she teaches professional dancers and advanced students, mentors emerging artists, and develops ballet pedagogy. She created the Ballet Five Eight syllabus, a Vaganova-based training curriculum, and has taught at more than 100 schools and organizations across the country.
“I am less interested now in demonstrating how much I can do and more interested in discovering how clearly I can say what matters.”
Julianna Rubio Slager
Fourteen years of building a company.
Julianna co-founded Ballet Five Eight in 2012 and has directed its artistic development from its earliest performances to its current national touring work.
As Artistic Director, she oversees repertoire, casting, commissioning, artist development, and production. Her work extends beyond creating individual ballets to shaping the artistic environment in which professional dancers work.
The company is a resident company of the Harris Theater and maintains a professional ensemble alongside a substantial school and community education program.
Ballet Five Eight →Recognition & Experience
IADMS
Dance Educator Award nominee.
School of American Ballet
National Visiting Fellow.
Chicago Dancemakers Forum
Finalist.
DCASE
Individual Artist Award.
Ballet Five Eight
Co-Founder, Artistic Director, and Resident Choreographer.
Guest Faculty
Teaching engagements at ballet schools, professional programs, and universities nationwide.
Work with Julianna.
Available for choreographic commissions, repertoire staging, residencies, guest teaching, and speaking engagements.
Contact Julianna →