Balinese Cha-Cha Gone Wild!
BALAM Dance Theatre to Premiere La-Tina at
Staten Island Second Annual International Dance Festival
Robin Gilbert in La-Tina
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joyce Luhrs, Publicist, 201-592-9126
Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director, 212-563-9111
( August 1, 2007 - New York , NY ) --BALAM Dance Theatre (BALAM) will premiere “La-Tina”, a humorous piece blending Latin and ballet dance rhythms and movements with Balinese influences, at the Staten Island Second Annual International Dance Festival onSaturday, August 11, 2007 between 4:00 and 5:00 P.M. at Tappen Park in Stapleton on Staten Island , New York . This free event is hosted by Century Dance Complex. BALAM is a unique New York dance ensemble that creates and performs contemporary world dances inspired by Balinese theatre. BALAM company member, Robin Gilbert, will perform the role of the homely, but loveable masked character that wins audiences' hearts through an irresistible combination of romance, rhythm, and comedy.
"In 'La-Tina', I combine the romance of the Spanish language, the exuberance of the Latin cha-cha, the refinement of ballet, and the comedy of Balinese masked theatre to tackle the stereotype of the Latin female, and the notion of sexy and beautiful," said BALAM's Artistic Director Carlos Fittante.
About Robin Gilbert
Robin Gilbert has helped define BALAM's Balinese/ballet fusion by combining the earthiness of Balinese dance with the etherealness of ballet's point work. In 1991, she debuted in the role, Raka Froggy from "Animal Wedding", dancing on point while wearing a wooden Balinese mask. As principal female dancer with the company, Ms. Gilbert brings her seamless dance technique, musicality and dramatic ability to all her roles, and is featured as the heroine, Sita, in Ramayana- Abduction of Sita", a story ballet inspired by the Hindu epic. She has studied and performed in Bali with the renowned Semara Ratih Gamelan.
Ms. Gilbert began her dance training in Cleveland , Ohio and later graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Her performance career includes performing with New American Ballet Ensemble, Connecticut Ballet Theatre, Dallas Ballet, and Anglo-American Ballet. Ms. Gilbert, whose performances have been seen in musical theatre, industrial shows, opera, commercials, and videos, has also worked with prominent choreographers such as Ann Reinking.
The BALAM History
Islene Pinder, a City University of New York dance educator, founded the company in 1979 to bring the mesmerizing Balinese dance and theatre style to New York . Under the directorship of Spanish choreographer Carlos Fittante, BALAM presents a cutting-edge vision of contemporary world dance that appeals to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Its repertoire, shaped by the artistic team of Pinder and Fittante, emanates from the dancers' individual movement skills --ballet, Baroque, Lester Horton, Spanish, Latin, ballroom, and karate movement techniques--fused with Balinese dance.
BALAM creates and performs original works inspired by traditional Balinese theatre. The dance company has been featured at numerous festivals and venues, including First Night New York; Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors; La Mama Experimental Theatre; Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival; and internationally at the Bali Arts Festival, Denpasar, Bali, and the 2nd Encuentro Internacíonal de Danza Contemporánea, Cancún, Mexico.
The company's work has been commended and highly praised by the Governor of Bali , the Semara Ratih Gamelan of Ubud, Bali , and the Indonesian Consulate of New York.
For further Information visit BALAM on the web at: www.balamdamce.org .