BALAM Dance Theatre 24-25 Season to Feature Latin Dance Rhythms & More

Travel in time with BALAM Dance Theatre and experience three mesmerizing programs in the company’s 2024-2025 season, launching in September 2024.  During the new season, experience the majestic mystery of the Alhambra Palace in southern Spain and elegant Baroque dance performed to music by English, French, and Italian master composers.  The company’s dancers will perform irresistible vibrant Latin dance rhythms and songs of Old and Nuevo España (New Spain), with guest artists from the Martinez Academy of Arms presenting the formidable 18th century Spanish Destreza fencing technique.

BALAM, a New York City-based professional, non-profit dance company, is renowned for its well-researched and imaginative cross-cultural work.  Rooted in the opulent and enthralling aesthetics of Balinese theatre, the company presents a contemporary vision of cultural dance by blending ballet, modern dance, and diverse cultural styles from various historic periods.

In the fall of 2024, BALAM will guest perform in two new works presented by Mosaic Dance Theater Company and La Fiocco.  During the spring of 2024, BALAM returns to the Gotham Early Music Scene’s Midtown Concerts Series to debut a thrilling program.

Mosaic Dance Theater Company.  September 14, 28, and 29 2024.

In September, BALAM artists, Barbara Romero and Carlos Fittante, guest perform with Mosaic Dance Theater Company, based in Essex County, New Jersey, in their premiere of “Impressions of The Alhambra”, a 90-minute theatrical work based on the beautiful prose of Washington Irving’s “Tales of the Alhambra”.  Conceived of and directed by Mosaic Dance Theater Company’s Director, Morgiana Celeste Varricchio, this evocative story telling ballet creates vivid vignettes through text, music, dance, and gesture to portray the adventures of 19th century southern Spain.

BALAM’s dances infuse the production with salero (Spanish charm) derived from the romantic Spanish Escuela Bolera dance style.  Courtly elegance and symbolic, expressive gestures from Baroque dance and pantomime are spotlighted.  Renaissance, Baroque, Spanish, and belly dance styles, choreographed by Carlos Fittante, artistic director of BALAM Dance Theatre, and Samara Adell, choreographer of Mosaic Dance Theater Company, seamlessly blend to capture the Alhambra’s enigmatic allure and timeless mystique.

The show is offered free to the public.  Tickets are recommended and may be procured on www.TicketStripe.com.  For more information, visit www.mosaicdancetheaterco.org .

The performance dates and locations are:

• Open Air Preview.  Saturday, September 14, 2024.  Free.  No rain date.

Freeman Gardens. 644 Hawthorne Avenue, Glen Ridge, New Jersey  07028.

• Premiere of the Full Program.  Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

First Congregational Church. 40 South Fullerton Avenue Montclair, New Jersey 07042.

 

Mosaic Dance Theater Company’s program is made possible by funds from the Essex County Division of Cultural Affairs, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

La Fiocco. October 26 and 27, 2024.

In October 2024, BALAM’s Yumiko Niimi, Robin Gilbert, and Carlos Fittante will guest dance in the premiere of “Pasacaille: A Baroque Dance Extravaganza”, presented by La Fiocco, a Pennsylvania based period music ensemble.  This eclectic program features a spectacular array of musical masterpieces by period composers, including Henry Purcell, John Blow, Jean Baptiste Lully, Francois Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Antonio Vivaldi, and others.  BALAM’s program highlights imaginative Baroque dance choreography and exquisite Baroque costumes and masks.

For this program, BALAM will create and present two new pieces.  The first, “The Old Bachelor: A spirited and flirtatious Baroque Dance Suite”, is accompanied with music by Henry Purcel.  The second piece offers the whimsical comedic work, “Harlequin Goes Bird Watching!”.  Featuring striking masks and golden scrolled Balinese wings, this imaginative entertainment highlights the sophisticated, lively music of Jean-Baptiste Lully, Francois Couperin, and Jean-Philippe Rameau.  Dancers Yumiko Niimi and Carlos Fittante will perform in both of these works.

 “Folia: A Spanish Baroque Fantasy”, an audience favorite, will be revived for this show.  This dramatic work features Antonio Vivaldi’s rendition of La Folia, with BALAM’s principal dancer, Robin Gilbert, performing in a noble Baroque mask with Fittante.

The performance dates and locations are:

• Saturday, October 26.  7:30 p.m.

Trinity Episcopal Church. 6587 Upper York Road, Solebury, Pennsylvania.

• Sunday, October 27.  3:00 p.m.
Christ Congregation. 50 Walnut Lane, Princeton, New Jersey.

Tickets are $30 for general admission and $15 for students.  Tickets are only available through lafiocco.org.

Gotham Early Music Scene (GEMS): Midtown Concerts. June 5, 2025.

In June of 2025, BALAM debuts “Old and New Spain in Music, Song, Dance, and Destreza Fencing”, a thrilling program selected by GEMS for the 27th season of its acclaimed Midtown Concerts series.  BALAM’s new program will be presented in the largest, most diverse series of free chamber music concerts in the nation, comprising weekly performances by over 40 different professional ensembles and artists.

The dance company’s bold and innovative program features two Baroque dancers performing, three musicians playing Baroque guitar, Baroque cello, and hand drum, and a mezzo-soprano singing.  The concert will also showcase a rich tapestry of 17th- and 18th-century Spanish Baroque guitar music and the visionary poetry of New World feminist Sor Juana de la Cruz.  A lively period folk melody from Veracruz, Mexico will be set to the haunting Baroque melody 'La Folia’, with a riveting demonstration by the Martinez Academy of Arms the Spanish Destreza fencing technique.

The performance date and location are:

• Thursday, June 5, 2025. 1:15-2:00 p.m. FREE

St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church (AKA: The Actors’ Chapel)

239 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019

 

For further information, go to https://www.gemsny.org/midtown-concerts .

Fiesta Odalan 45!

This past spring, BALAM presented Fiesta Odalan 45! in New York City to celebrate the company’s 45th anniversary performing contemporary cultural dance for communities worldwide.  Fiesta Odalan 45! presented solos, duets, trios, and a quartet spotlighting a range of music, dance forms and movements from Indonesia, Peru, Spain and the United States from the 18th century to the present.  The captivating, well-received program may be viewed online, https://youtu.be/Gh-n-KWmxFU .

About BALAM Dance Theatre

Founded in 1979 by choreographer and movement researcher, Islene Pinder, BALAM Dance Theatre offers a new vision of contemporary dance rooted in the dazzling opulence and magical aura of Balinese theatre. 

The New York City-based dance/theatre company creates a unique entertainment experience that has universal appeal.  Audiences of all ages and backgrounds enjoy BALAM’s innovative movement alchemy where dynamic athleticism, detailed skills, and movement techniques from around world and time periods are fused and enhanced by eclectic music, striking masks, vibrant costumes and fantasy stories.

The company educates the community about dances and cultures featured in its repertoire.  Through its Out & About Series, free and affordable performances, workshops and creative events at the grassroots level are made available for families, children, students and community residents.  

BALAM Dance Theatre has been featured at numerous festivals and venues, including First Night New York, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and Downtown Dance Festival.  The company has also performed throughout the United States and internationally.  BALAM has received praise from the New York Times and Village Voice, the Governor and people of Bali and the Indonesian Consulate of New York, as well as others. 

For further information, call 646-361-9183 or visit BALAM Dance Theatre on its blog, www.balamdancetheatre.blogspot.com.  

Photo credit: Julie Lemberger