BALAM Dance Theatre: Fall 2011 Calendar of Events

December 16-18. The Christmas Show.
Enjoy BALAM’s Grand Pas Deux from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite with Principal Ballerina Robin Gilbert, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Artistic Director Carlos Fittante, as her Cavalier. Presented in Staten Island's family holiday favorite, The Christmas Show, at the St George Theatre, 35 Hyatt St., (2 blocks from the SI Ferry Station).

Dates and Times. Friday, December 16 at 7 p.m.; Saturday December 17 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Sunday, December 18 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.*
Tickets: $10, $20, $30, $40.
*Sunday Night Special: All tickets $10 and $20.
Call the SGT, 718-442-2900, during box office hours.

November 26, 27. Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) Chamber Opera.
BALAM invites the public to see Carlos Fittante and Olsi Gjeci in BEMF’s two new productions of Les Descente d’Orphée and La Couronne de Fleurs. (A double bill of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s work.)
Saturday, November 26 at 8 p.m. Sunday, November 27 at 3 p.m.
New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall
30 Gainsborough Street, Boston, MA 02115
For tickets, go to BEMF.org

November 17. Baroque Dance Performance and Lecture.
Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director of BALAM Dance Theatre, performs the Entrée de Apollon and lectures on Baroque dance’s relationship to period music in Professor Stephen Hammer’s Performance Practice Class at Bard College located at Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

November 8. Le Contredanse Master Class.
A master class in Le Contredanse was presented at Hunter College in N.Y.C.

November 8. "Speaking for Myself" Screening.
The independent documentary film, “Speaking for Myself”, featuring interviews with BALAM members Toshinori Hamada and Carlos Fittante, was screened at the County Theatre in Doylestown, P.A.

November 6. Atelier Orientale Performance.
BALAM Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director, Carlos Fittante, performed a modern dance duet with belly dancer Sira Melikian in Atelier Orientale, a quarterly performance series of dance and performing arts of the Middle East, at the Anahid Sofian Studio.

October 1. New York Baroque Dance Company Dance Class.
BALAM Dance Theatre joined the New York Baroque Dance Company for a pre-Halloween dance class taught by Carlos Fittante that combined Balinese masks and Baroque movement for the Dance of the Month series at the Mark Morris Dance Center in NY.C.

About BALAM

BALAM has performed throughout the United States and internationally at renowned venues such as: Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, American Museum of Natural History, and the Bali International Arts Festival. Its work has received acclaim from audiences, critics, scholars, and dignitaries alike, including critical praise mentioned in the New York Times, Village Voice, and endorsements from the Indonesian Consulate of New York, and the Governor of Bali.

The company's long standing interest in dance research, along with its extensive collection of Balinese masks, and cutural costumes and props, make it a resource for educators, artists, and scholars.

The Deeper Meaning of the "Ramayana"

By Shelley Lynne Cummins, www.jaisriyogis.com/

Shelley Lynne Cummins is a yoga and Oneness Blessing trainer, as well as a dancer.

The first two limbs in the eight fold path of yoga are the Yamas, Awareness of the obstacles in life, and Niyamas, cultivating practices to remove the obstacles. As these limbs are activated in harmony, a balance or zero point arrives allowing causality to permeate. The classic tale of the Ramayana is a perfect depiction of this inner balance Of polarities producing unity.

As a dancer and yogini, I have had the great opportunity to study and dance the Ramayana for many years. Every time I enter into this great epic, new realizations are found. It is likened to the dance of day, going to sleep and awaking again in the morning for a new play. Amidst the routines of life subtle realizations appear as the mystery of unity Dances around in the unseen worlds.

A yogini's reflection of this great great tale.

The Ramayana is the story of the divine marriage within. It is everyone's story with all the players aspects of their self. The story begins with a happy and harmonious marriage of Sita and Rama. Sita symbolizes the balanced female and Rama the balanced male within each individual.

One day Sita is enticed by a golden deer into the cave of the evil demon, Rawana.

The capture of Sita is a metaphor of the ego consciousness trying to gain control over the potential of all. The golden deer represents the possible deception and false allure of the illusion of this physical plane.

Upon hearing the news of Sita's capture, Rama gives his golden ring to Hanuman the Monkey King. He orders Hanuman to deliver the ring to Sita so she will know help is on the way.

Here Rama embodies his higher masculine qualities of protection of the unseen and the absolute creation which lives in his word.

The ring symbolizes the circle of light around the body, known as the merkabah or golden carriage of light.

Hanuman the Monkey King represents our monkey mind constantly chattering. As our mind unites with the purpose of reinstalling causality, it becomes a servant of the heart. In service Hanuman flies across the ocean to deliver the ring to Sita. He is able to tap into the One Heart Mind And use his merkabah to transport himself where needed.

Hanuman delivers the ring to Sita and upon his return tells Rama of her whereabouts. Rama goes to fight the evil demon, Rawana, for the release of Sita.

Rama is fighting the ultimate battle of light and dark in order to regain the feminine intuitive, All knowing, nurturing life force. The light always wins as it illuminates the dark corners and shadows. Rama reunites with Sita and together they live happily ever after in the diversity and play of unity.

And to think we know the whole story, the entire ring in the circle of life.We boldly go on experiencing each section of the ring.

As Joseph Campbell says: We are each a heroine or hero on a great journey.We begin enlightened creating a life of experiences in order to realize and reunite with our all encompassing light.