Since our last conversation with Julianna Slager, Artistic Director of Ballet 5:8, the company has experienced tremendous growth with an expanded repertoire, increased guest choreographers, and last year Slager was named a fellow at the School of American Ballet (SAB). Most notably, Ballet 5:8 recently announced a groundbreaking milestone for the 14-year-old company: full-time contracts for its dancers. We sat down with Slager to discuss the inspiring journey Ballet 5:8 took to reach this new chapter and the excitement the company has for its future.
A dreamer at heart, Slager always had hopes of achieving full-time contracts, but it was in 2019 when vision casting began. “We moved into our new building in 2018. 2019 was the first time I was brave enough to share what was in my mind, and the board really took to that. Then COVID arrived. That threw me for a loop a little bit. It was a big test of faith to hang on to unseen things and allow myself to hope.”
As Slager began to dig further into making her dream a reality, she uncovered a unique model to bring Ballet 5:8 to its next chapter. After reviewing the company’s finances, Slager realized the organization could shift resources from paying part-time contract employees who were doing administrative tasks, to paying dancers to do those same jobs. This shift would allow them to offer the dancers full-time contracts with benefits.
“When we made the discovery that a big structural shift could be the answer to getting us where we wanted to go, we took pen to paper and looked at all the people we have in the organization,” Slager explains. “If dancers are in rehearsal 25 hours a week, and additionally have 10 hours of either teaching or helping with administrative duties, social media, whatever, that still gives them five flexible hours for meetings or time they can spend to cross-train. We sat down and daydreamed a little bit about what it could look like, and then we slowly started talking to the dancers about it.”
This structural change involved intentional coordination between dancers and board members. “We had a cohort of dancers along with a cohort of board members who created a caucus and talked through how this would work practically,” Slager says. “Then, we rolled it out to the dancers and walked everybody through the process. Now, we are able to do a guaranteed salary increase every year, with a three-year contract which is super exciting so they have better job security. Because we have this stability, the board now can budget further out. The paid time off, the 401k and a lot of benefits that our full-time staff members had been receiving can now go to a much larger portion of our population.”
Combining artistic development alongside administrative tasks, extends beyond full-time company dancers to Ballet 5:8’s Trainee and Second Company dancers. “Because we want to make sure our Trainee and Second Company dancers are able to advance into the company and have a skill set, the Trainee directors have done a really good job of giving them a chance to job shadow in areas they’re interested in,” explains Slager. “We started last year with our Emerging Artists Series, which is a student-produced showcase where they all have roles and their own budget. Based off of that model, they can job shadow in different areas of the organization. That way, when they’re ready to receive a company contract, they have a sense of their skills. We want to prepare that pathway for them, whether they’re with us or somebody else, since those paths are so crucial to having a successful long-term career in the arts.”
Under this new full-time model, Slager is thrilled to watch Ballet 5:8’s quality and creative output soar. “I really love working with everybody inside and outside the studio. I think it strengthens our bond as a team because we’re very focused on the goals and the mission. It also helps the dancers. They can see behind the scenes and better understand why organizational decisions are made. On the dancer side, we’re able to have more rehearsal time because everybody is full-time, so the roles they do outside of dance are a little smaller. Now that everyone is on the same page, we’ve been able to institute some really healthy boundaries. With that, I honestly think the dancing is going to go through the roof. I think the stress loads for all of us will go way down. The ‘many hands make the load lighter’ frame of mind is how it feels. I think we’ll all be able to have more joy, inspiration, creativity and rest. There’s more protection now that everyone has paid sick time and paid time off. There’s a lot of things we can do by working shoulder to shoulder inside the studio and out of it.”
Reflecting on her time as a fellow with SAB, Slager shares how the experience is helping her lead this new season at Ballet 5:8. “I realized that even at the highest levels you’re still finding new ways to innovate and make your workspace as healthy as it can be. It helped me to relax a little more, which as a leader is something you need. You need to know that you can have bandwidth, grace and space to try things and fail. The other thing is Katrina Killian reinvigorated my belief that kids can do anything. Katrina is so invested in her students – knows everyone by name, remembers all their boo-boos, is so caring and kind – but at the same time is producing amazing high-level dancers. It reminded me that the art form is demanding, and there’s not anything you can do to change that if you want to be high-level, but you can do it with care and seeing the whole person.”
Slager’s leadership shone as we wrapped up the conversation, as it was obvious her care for the Ballet 5:8 dancers extend beyond the studio. “I’m constantly trying to hold that paradox of everybody being truly known and loved for who they are, while also helping people reach that next level.”
Ballet 5:8’s 2025-2026 season kicked off in July. La Llorona will be on tour this September and October. To learn more, visit ballet58.org.
By Melody McTier Thomason of Dance Informa.
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