“Even though we have tools at our disposal like a pirouette or a developé, the movement leads from an emotional center into high value dance moments.” During the choreographic process, the dancers created movement by reflecting first on emotions such as jealousy and being in love.

Classical ballet technique is at the core of the work, but Rubio Slager emphasizes rhythm and dynamics that translate technique into art in a new way. The ballet’s choreographic style also sets the work apart from a traditional narrative ballet. Many of the props are repurposed products pulled from Facebook Marketplace and other resale sites. “It’s making a statement about how much we value the place we call home,” and how important it is for the arts to support the environmental movement. Rubio Slager enjoyed the process of repurposing products for the stage. The set design for “BareFace” consists of almost all recycled materials, emphasizing the importance of caring for the environment. Still, the characters grapple with the same problems that we see in our daily lives today. In this imaginary scenario, nature has started to fight back, giving audiences a new way to view the issue. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, it reveals the damage human beings have done to the earth.

The ballet also examines humans’ impact on the environment.

She set out to bring a female perspective to beauty, looking at “how we can individually and as a community explore beauty as a concept.” All eleven performers in the ballet are women. The ballet also takes a close look at the definition of beauty, which has been defined by the male gaze for many years, Rubio Slager says. For instance, BareFace touches on abuse and trauma because in the myth Orual is abused by her father.

Bareface cs lewis