The quintet of [Rachel Browne], [Stephanie Ballard], [Odette Heyn-Penner], [Faye Thomson] and [Gaile Petursson-Hiley] -- interwoven in so many ways, on and offstage -- will surely receive an outpouring of affection this weekend. "We don't talk about years," Ballard says about the group, "because we're still going. It's like, what can we do that's new and interesting now?"

Tonight, Heyn-Penner is to dance Red With Grace, a solo choreographed by Ballard seven years ago. "I was rehearsing her the other day and she said, 'Do you still think I can do this piece?' I said, 'Of course you can. I think you're doing it better now.'"

A "mind-blowing" part of the group's journey is that their children are now coming of age as dancers. Thomson's son James and daughter Robyn, Heyn-Penner's daughters Kendra and Danica, and Petursson-Hiley's daughter Kathleen (who is Ballard's godchild) are all current students or graduates of the SCD professional program.