We are partnering with Barnes & Noble to host a Bookfair fundraiser: Barnes & Noble will make a donation to Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts based on a percentage of all purchases made in the store on November 17, and online 11/17-11/22 using our bookfair code or flyer.
Our All Abilities Dance Workshop is a safe space for students with special needs to dance! Join us and learn dance exercises, improvisational games, important elements of dance and choreography.
Join us on Saturday, October 27 for a Holy Yoga workshop! The event is open to all adults, no prior Yoga experience required. Holy Yoga is an incredible way to achieve and maintain physical fitness, while also gaining refreshment through the Scripture that is woven into each class.
Our All Abilities Dance Workshop is a safe space for students of all abilities and talents to dance. If you can stand, if you can walk with a cane, if you can drive a power wheelchair, come! Join us and learn dance exercises, improvisational games, important elements of dance and choreography.
We'd be so happy to have you join us for our annual Fall Open House. You'll be able to tour our studios, meet staff members, get fun giveaways, and attend your first class free.
Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts is excited to welcome Ms. Katie Hughes on staff as our first Irish Dance instructor. Join Ms. Katie for an Irish Dance workshop this August and get a taste of this fun dance style!
The workshop is open to ages 8-18, and no prior experience with Irish Dance is required. Attend Session One for an introduction, or register for both sessions for a more in-depth experience! Wear casual attire that allows for movement; ballet shoes, jazz shoes or socks if you do not have Irish Dance shoes.
In 1985, Katie Hughes-Schroeder started Irish dancing on the southside of Chicago at the Dennehy School of Irish Dance. Katie still cherishes her time and memories with Mr. and Mrs. Dennehy and their daughter, Kathy. She loved solo and team dancing during this time. Later, Ms Hughes-Schroeder attended the Lavin-Cassidy School located in the Beverly area. At both schools, Katie had many successes in solo and team competitions. Her successes included winning multiple (solo and team) regional titles, top ten placements in the nation, and multiple trips to compete at the All-Ireland and World Championships in Ireland.
In the Summer of 2000, Katie decided to venture out and open her own dance school, the Hughes Academy. In 2003, Katie passed the certification exam to become a member and certified teacher with the An Coimisiun le Rinci Gaelacha (CLRG) in Dublin, Ireland. Throughout the last 18 years, Ms. Hughes-Schroeder has enjoyed many special highlights as a teacher. Katie’s students have competed at the regional, national and international level since 2003.
Katie Hughes Schroeder has been married to her husband, Krist for almost 16 years and they have three daughters, Keeley (14), Keira (13) and Keagan (11). They live in a forest preserve house on 600 hundred acres and enjoy daily visits from the wildlife.
Every staff member is beyond talented and so passionate about each one of their students and teaching them the beautiful art of dance. At Ballet 5:8 you don’t feel like just another student getting lost in the numbers, you feel like a member of one big family!
The teachers bring a wonderful mixture of experience, discipline, and love to each of their classes. They care for their students. I can’t wait to sign up my youngest daughter in one and a half years!! 
Attention to detail (in class with students and with parents via communication) and technique, amazing staff that are also exceptional role models/mentors for the schools students! Blessed to have this school in our neck of the woods!!
Caring, professional, and with lots of artistic integrity. They have also become incredible models to my daughter and other students. The school has diversity in its student body, and a family atmosphere with all staff and teachers who truly care for the well-being of each individual student.
Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts is the official school of Ballet 5:8, the only Chicago-area professional performing company in residence in the South Suburbs.