Ellington Nichols became a company apprentice for Orland Park-based Ballet 5:8 in 2019, the same year that she danced in the premiere of “Butterfly: Hope in the Terezin Ghetto.”
Now a Ballet 5:8 company artist, the descendant of Holocaust survivors leads the piece on Feb. 11 at Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts on The University of Chicago campus in Chicago’s Hyde Park community.
“Even though Helga’s story isn’t my story and my great-grandpa’s story isn’t my story, I get to share their stories and bring a light to these difficult topics,” said Nichols about performing the role of Holocaust survivor Helga Weiss, who entered the Jewish ghetto of Terezin at age 12.
“One of the main things I want people to know is that these people were real people and they matter. Every single story matters. It’s really special to be able to have that personal connection and that personal heritage to share their stories.”
Julianna Rubio Slager, Ballet 5:8’s co-founder and artistic director, choreographed “Butterfly,” which includes music composed in Terezin and artwork by children of Terezin to tell the story of Weiss and her art teacher Friedl Dicker-Brandeis during the Holocaust.
“It’s special to have such a tight-knit group where we can produce so much emotion onstage together because I couldn’t tell this story alone. It’s a group effort. I have a lot of respect for all of my colleagues that we can go so deep into the characters to produce such a beautiful performance,” Nichols said.
Her great-grandfather Erwin Spandau escaped three concentration camps by means including digging a tunnel with another man and eluding machine gun fire and dogs to crawl to freedom.
“One time when he was escaping he was on a train. He knew that if he made it to the destination he wouldn’t have survived. Thankfully there was a Nazi who was compassionate and loosened his handcuffs and told him to escape through the bathroom window,” said Nichols of Tinley Park.
“As he was jumping out of the train he smashed his knee so he couldn’t walk. He ended up crawling 10 miles to safety. I’m told that he later found out that the Nazi that helped my great-grandpa was shot by the other Nazis because they weren’t supposed to do that.”
Her great-uncle Henry Bickel, who survived several camps, was interviewed for an oral history for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
“The Nazis didn’t want to get rid of him because he could speak and write German and he could sew so he had a job in a lot of camps sewing tapestries and drapes,” Nichols said.
“Something that I’ve learned from going through Helga’s story and just the Jewish people’s story in general is they never gave up hope.”
Ballet 5:8’s Logan Center production also includes world premieres of “Wind,” which is guest choreographed by Steve Rooks and inspired by Alfonso Peduto’s music, and Slager’s “Counterpart,” a pas de deux billed as a testament to the transformative collaboration of authentic partnership.
Dancers for the show include residents of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, Frankfort, New Lenox, Orland Park and Tinley Park.
‘Butterfly’
When: 3 p.m. Feb. 11
Where: Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St., Chicago
Tickets: $15-$55
Information: 312-725-4752; ballet58.org
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
