BALAM Blog Articles

Learning the Terunajaya 

Carlos Fittante. (Feb. 2024)

Photo Credit: Neil Simpson

I first studied Terunajaya with BALAM’s Founding Director, Islene Pinder, whose expressive hands and carefully selected cue words quickly put me into a different mind-body state. Eventually, Islene and I pieced together an acceptable draft of the dance for me to bring to Bali. There, I continued my instruction under the tutelage of Ayu Sukmawati, an award-winning Balinese dancer and Co-Artistic Director of the Semara Ratih Gamelan. This was an immersive experience that frequently overwhelmed my nervous system. It was amazing!

Choreographed in 1918 by Pan Wandres and revised in 1952 by I. Gede Manik, this formidable dance solo is in my opinion one of the great works of the cultural dance genre. This solo combines male and female Balinese dance movement patterns and draws upon several other popular Balinese dances. These include the Baris solo warrior dance, Legong, typically performed by pre-pubescent girls; Oleg Tambulilingan, a dancing queen bumblebee; and the Jauk, a strong masked demonic character.

How a dancer embodies these diverse energies and movement patterns is a sign of their skill in the role. When preparing my performance of Terunajaya, I use the Baris, a Balinese dance role that I also perform, as the substratum for my movement. His physical prowess suits my height, cisgender male identity, and innate body’s physicality, which also easily transfers to the Jauk’s moments in the dance.

However, to realize the identity of the Terunajaya character, I must also show the coy innocence of the Legong, and the flamboyant sensuality of the Oleg Tambulilingan. The result of this surreal blend is a unique Balinese dance expression that leaves me feeling like a martial artist in combat, who is simultaneously flirting with a suitor!

The Mystery of Bali Combines with Baroque Music and Dance in Garden of Love in Miniature (Jan. 2022)

The vitality of Bali combines with Baroque music, dance, and song in BALAM Dance Theatre's premiere of Garden of Love in Miniature.  The original and imaginative program will be presented both live and virtually by Midtown Concerts, a project of Gotham Early MusicScene, at Church of the Transfiguration, located at 1 East 29th Street, New York, NY 10016 on Thursday, April 21 from 1:15 p.m. to 1:55 p.m. EST.  Photo Credit: Toshinori Hamada

The program is open to the public and admission is FREE.  The performance will also be live streamed on April 21 at https://gemsny.org/midtown-live.      

                                                                         

The concert is dedicated in memory of Gladys Isabel Fajardo Luhrs, a Friend of BALAM, who appreciated and enjoyed classical music and dance during her life.  Her goodness, integrity, and generosity were inspiring.                                                         

In this program, gorgeous Baroque period costumes, a striking wooden Balinese deer mask, and Balinese hand carved golden leather bird wings are shown on one stage.  "BALAM Dance Theatre's feel-good program presents light entertainment in the spirit of the Baroque opera entrée act, inspired by the theme of love, that will charm and enchant the audience.  This performance embodies the mysterious spirit of Balinese masked dancing and fantasy wings with the bucolic delights presented by Baroque master painters François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard," said Fittante.                                       

BALAM, a non-profit, professional dance theatre company based in New York City, offers a new vision of contemporary cultural dance by combining diverse dance styles from around the world and historic periods with ballet and modern.  The company's new program opens with the stunning Entrée d’Apollon, a notated Baroque dance solo, circa 1701, performed by Baroque choreographer and dancer Carlos Fittante.  BALAM dancer Yumiko Niimi performs an Allemande, as a masked bird character, with Fittante reappearing as a masked deer.  Eugenia Forteza, guest mezzo-soprano, debuts with the company, as the fictitious Madama Amorina, a famous Baroque actress visiting the garden of love to meet a secret admirer.                 


Musicians of BALAM's Lisa Terry of Parthenia Viol Consort performs on viola de gamba with Ryan Closs from 4&20 Strings and the Lute Society of America New York Chapter on therobo.  Guest musicians Kenneth Hamrick of American Virtuosi on harpsichord and Dongmyung Ahn on Baroque violin join the company. 


This intimate, imaginative program features the exquisite music of Jean Baptiste Lully’s Entrée d’Apollon transcribed for solo harpsichord by Jean-Henri d'Anglebert, François Couperin’s Concerts Royaux: Concerts 1 and 2, and Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Sans Frayeur dans ce Bois.  Throughout the program, recited text created by Fittante and Inma Heredia is spoken.


For further information about the program or BALAM Dance Theatre, contact balamdancetheatre@gmail.com or call 646-361-9183.            


BALAM Dance Theatre to Debut 'Live Baroque Music and Dance' at  Midtown Concerts (March 2021)







BALAM Dance Theatre premieres Live Baroque Music and Dance, a new Baroque inspired choreography created by artistic director Carlos Fittante.  The virtual performance will be presented live by Midtown Concerts, a project of Gotham Early Music Scene, at Church of the Transfiguration, located at 1 East 29th Street, New York, NY 10016 on Thursday, May 27 from 1:15 to 1:55 p.m. EST. 

The program is FREE and may be viewed live on May 27 and after the event at these websites:

            BALAM, a New York City-based company, offers a new vision of contemporary dance by combining ballet, modern and diverse cultural dance styles from around the world and historic periods.  The new program features two New York premieres, El Bosque and Fandango, and the world premiere of Four Corantos.  A stellar line-up of artists take the stage in this premiere with Baroque BALAM's artistic director, choreographer and dancer Carlos Fittante, and guest musicians Lisa Terry of Parthenia Viol Consort and Ryan Closs of 4&20 Strings and the Lute Society of America New York Chapter.


            BALAM celebrates its first live performance since the COVID-19 pandemic began with this intimate and imaginative program using Baroque musical gems from England, Scotland, Italy, and Peru.  These works are featured: diverse Corantos and other selections from the Leycester Lyra Viol Manuscript by John Jenkins (1592-1678) for solo viol, charming Scottish Tunes by Francesco Barsanti (1690-1775), the rolling Toccata Arpeggiata for theorbo by Giovanni Girolamo Kaspberger (1580-1651), and the commanding Fandango for Baroque guitar by Matías Maestro Alegría (1766-1835).


            BALAM creates a unique entertainment experience that has universal appeal.  Audiences of all ages and backgrounds enjoy the company'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.  

            "This new intimate program expresses the creative spirit that sustained us during the pandemic period and the renewed opportunity to perform together in-person feels like a joyful blossoming, after a harsh and austere winter.  We encourage teachers and other educators to attend and invite their students to experience this unique program," said Fittante.


       During the performance, viewers will see Fittante's original and historically informed choreographies: El Bosque (The Forest); Fandango, with castanets and taconeo (rhythmic footwork in the Escuela Bolera style); and four distinct representations of the Coranto, a dance form inspired by King Louis XIV’s favorite dance, the Courante.  These dances bring history to life through an elegant and artistically charged embodiment of period aesthetics.

                       For further information, call 646-361-9183 or visit BALAM Dance Theatre on its website, http://www.balamdancetheatre.com, and blog, www.balamdancetheatre.blogspot.com.  Follow the company on Facebook, www.facebook.com/balamdancetheatre, and check for updates on Twitter @BALAMDance.