BALAM Dance Theatre to Perform Traditional Balinese Dance in
DANCING AT THE CROSSROADS
Featuring Artistic Director Carlos Fittante & Resident Guest Artist Nani Devi
A Free Dance Event in which BALAM performs at 6:35pm
Presented on Military Island in Times Square, New York City
June 8, 2008
Oleg Tambulilingan. Photo: Steven Rosen
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joyce Luhrs, Publicist, 201-592-9126, luhrsassocpress [at] rcn.com
Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director, 646-361-9183
(NEW YORK, NY)—May 26, 2008-- BALAM Dance Theatre’s (BALAM), a New York City-based ensemble that creates a new vision of contemporary dance by fusing Balinese theatre with diverse cultural dance styles, announces that Artistic Director Carlos Fittante and Resident Guest Artist Nani Devi will perform in DANCING AT THE CROSSROADS in New York City on June 8, 2008. The free event, which runs from 4:30 p.m. to dusk, is open to the public and will be presented at Times Square on Military Island in New York City.
Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA) and the Times Square Alliance are the presenters of the third annual DANCING AT THE CROSSROADS. The event showcases the best dance companies in New York City at the "crossroads of the world.” Founded in 1991 by former Paul Taylor dancers Denise Roberts Hurlin and Hernando Cortez, DRA is a fundraising program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Over $130 million have been raised and distributed to nearly 500 AIDS and family service organizations in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and South Africa.
Mr. Fittante, a teacher at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, and Ms. Devi, a native of Indonesia, will perform the scintillating Balinese dance duet Oleg Tambulilingan (Love Dance of the Bumblebees) to choreography created by Nyoman Mario. This traditional Balinese dance depicts a playful courtship between two bumblebees and affirms the law of physical attraction in finding love. The dancers will appear in Balinese costumes and dance to recorded traditional music by the world renowned Semara Ratih Gamelan of Ubud, Bali.
Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director of BALAM Dance Theatre, is a choreographer and dancer specializing in contemporary fusion choreography, who has performed throughout the United States and internationally. He has studied and performed in Bali, Indonesia with the Semara Ratih Gamelan. He is an eminent guest teacher and is presently on the faculty of the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute of New York, where he teaches Mask & Gesture/Movement for Actors. Mr. Fittante is a graduate of the School of American Ballet and holds a Bachelors of Arts in dance from Empire State College. He has an eclectic movement background in Ballet, Baroque and Balinese dance and is an avid practitioner of yoga.
Among the leading festivals and companies that he has performed with are the New York City Opera, New York Collegium, Boston Early Music Festival, Academy of Ancient Music, and the New York Baroque Dance Company, where he was a principal dancer. His choreographic work has been presented at numerous festivals, including New Choreographers on Point and the DUMBO Dance Festival, and with other companies such as Ballet Santa Barbara, where he is artistic associate.
Nani Devi was born and raised in Bali, Indonesia and began dancing at the early age of ten. Ms. Devi specializes in and performs classical Balinese dance, as well as those from the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Sulawesi. Educated at the University of Indonesia, she has distinguished herself as a knowledgeable instructor in various dance traditions, having collaborated with many notable dance masters and performers throughout Indonesia.
Noted for dancing with a natural grace and sweet expression, she was selected by the Indonesian government to perform in the palaces of Bali for visiting heads of state. In 1972, she settled in New York City performing and promoting Indonesian dance forms for the Ministry of Culture. She has performed throughout the world, including Russia, Japan, China, Thailand, the Philippines, the United States, and in several Middle Eastern countries.
About BALAM Dance Theatre
BALAM offers a new vision of contemporary dance that emanates from a cutting-edge fusion of diverse cultural dance styles and movement techniques. The company’s fusion repertoire presents an opulent dance theatre that blends contemporary choreography, eclectic music, striking masks, imaginative props, and vibrant costumes to create a performance that appeals to audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
In 1979, Islene Pinder, a Lehman College dance educator, founded the company and brought the mesmerizing Balinese dance theatre style to New York audiences. Under the directorship of Spanish-American choreographer Carlos Fittante, BALAM’s fusion repertoire blends boldly divergent dance styles and movements, including ballet, Spanish, Lester Horton, Baroque, Latin, Hip-Hop, Noh, and karate, as well as Balinese.
BALAM has been featured at several distinguished festivals and venues, such as First Night New York; Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors; La Mama Experimental Theatre, New York, New York; Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Lee, Massachusetts, and many others. The company has also appeared internationally at the Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar, Bali and the 2nd Encuentro Internacíonal de Danza Contemporánea in Cancún, Mexico.
The company’s work has received critical recognition from the New York Times and Village Voice. The Governor and people of Bali and the Indonesian Consulate of New York have highly commended its performances.
Location
Military Island in Times Square at the intersection of Broadway and 7 th Avenues between 43 rd and 44 th streets.
(Publicity by Luhrs & Associates)
For further information, please call 646-361-9183