BALAM Dance Theatre

🤝BALAM is a frequent collaborator with other artists and organizations, offering its expertise and skills to further the overall arts scene, a tradition established with the company's founding in 1979.

One such BALAM friend is the not-for-profit Shakespeare Downtown, now celebrating its tenth season. During this time, BALAM donated choreography for their premiere production of Romeo and Juliet in 2016, A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2018, and Lady of the Camellias in 2023. This year, BALAM is assisting with the soundscape for their upcoming production:

💫Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov – FREE. Tickets are available at the venue at 5:45 p.m. June 11–14 & June 18–21 (Thursday–Sunday) at 6:30 p.m.
Castle Clinton National Monument in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

Directed by Geoffrey Horne starring Billie Andersson and actors from the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

The Cast from Uncle Vanyah. Photo Credit: Shakespeare Downtown

🎉Find out what’s new at BALAM Dance Theatre in our June newsletter:

🎪 BALAM performs with Marblehead School of Ballet on June 6 at José Mateo Ballet Theatre's 16th Annual Dance for World Community in Harvard Square!
✨Celebrating Pride with a new piece
🙏 Special feature: Remembering BALAM’s Founding Director Islene Pinder and her legacy
💃Rehearsals underway with Rama & Sita Duet
🎭From the Archive: Collaborating with Shakespeare Downtown
📰More News
🖇Get the Details Here: https://tinyurl.com/BALAMJune262




Carlos Fittante Putnam County DANCE Project Julie Lemberger Photography

🌟 This weekend, join us as BALAM Dance Theatre takes the stage at José Mateo Ballet Theatre 's 16th Annual Dance for World Community Festival!

🗓⏰Saturday, June 6 | 12:50 p.m. | Stage 2 | Free 💃
📍Massachusetts Avenue near Putnam Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Experience three compelling performances: ✨ Dragonfly Welcome Dance—an exciting new work featuring our Artistic Director and President, Carlos Fittante ✨ Cumbia Graciosa and Tango Fusion Trio—created for our Dance Adventure series at Marblehead School of Ballet, performed by the school's dancers.

🎭 This month, BALAM honors our sister Balinese organization and mentor in Ubud, Bali, the Gamelan Semara Ratih, under the direction of Anom Putra Anom Baris and his wife Ayu Sukmawati.

🌴 The relationship between our companies goes back to BALAM's Founding Director Islene Pinder's first visits to Bali in the 1970s, where she became the adoptive godmother to the young boy Anom. Since 1990, Anom and Ayu—award-winning Balinese dancers—have expertly taught Balinese dance to BALAM's artists during our many island tours.

💫 Their exceptional artistry and skill continue to inform and inspire us. We are deeply grateful for this lifelong artistic connection!

✨ Enjoy this two-minute excerpt of the Teruna Jaya (Victorious Youth), a virtuosic Balinese solo fan dance performed by Ayu.

🎥 Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBubxAebuTw

💃 BALAM is delighted to announce our two new works—Dragonfly Welcome Dance and Harlequin's Diploma Divertissement—made their debut at ARTsDay at Queens College (QC) 2026 and were well received!

✨ "It was a joy to see the music being embodied and augmented through dance...I appreciate the playfulness and humor in the dances."
--Edisa Weeks, Director, Queens College Dance Program

✨ In 1978, BALAM’s Founding Director Islene Pinder established the company’s first home at 88 Franklin Street in the now trendy Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca. At that time, an “artist loft” movement was in full swing allowing artists to occupy and work from empty loft spaces. 🧭These environments, known for their tall ceilings, exposed brick walls, and original timber columns, became part of a New York City bohemian tour circuit for tourists and quickly revitalized abandoned neighborhoods.

🏙️ After her first study in Bali, Islene secured a 3,000 square foot space and installed a sprung oak floor conducive for dancing. Here, she taught Balinese dance and presented many in-loft happenings of her burgeoning Balinese fusion dance work. Some of these important works included Night Shadow, Memory Fragrance and Pity, and her signature solo, Vision of Sound. 🌺



Photo: Facade of 88 Franklin Street, New York, NY. Photo Credit: 2025 Tribeca Citizen
Photo: Islene Pinder, BALAM Dance Theatre’s founding director Photo Credit: BALAM Dance Theatre

🎭 BALAM's new vision of contemporary dance shares the beauty of diverse cultures and time periods with audiences of all ages and backgrounds at the grassroots level. BALAM events not only entertain, but they also educate, making art something to do, to ponder, and to explore.

This comprehensive engagement moves the communities we serve beyond passively consuming art, to living it 💃—a very Balinese concept. In Bali, art transforms, heals, and brings joy and peace!

🎪Your donations in any amount are a vital lifeline and serve as a meaningful vote of confidence. Each gift goes a long way and helps us keep our programs free or low-cost, pay our dedicated artists, and maintain the vibrant costumes and props that bring our stories to life.

💫Donating is easy. Visit BALAM's blog and click the DONATE button! See the Comments 👇.

Second option: Send a check payable to BALAM Dance Theatre:
319 West 18th Street, 4C New York, NY 10011

BALAM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

🙏Thank you for your vital ongoing interest and support!
Sincerely,
Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director/President

Photo: Yumiko Niimi (Yumiko Ballet NY) and Robin Gilbert as the Golden Deer and Princess Sita from BALAM's Ramayana: Abduction of Sita
Photo Credit: Julie Lemberger Photography .

💫In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we spotlight BALAM's Resident Balinese Artist, Nani Devi. Originally from the village of Tabanan, Bali, and now for many years a United States citizen and a New Yorker, Nani serves as BALAM's Balinese dance instructor and coach.

As a star dancer, she is featured in our version of the popular Balinese dance, Oleg Tambulilingan (Love Dance of the Bumblebees) 💃, excerpted here in a two-minute video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbWz1npG-k4

Photo: Nani Devi dances in the Oleg Tambulilingan in Carmel Hamlet (Putnam County DANCE Project), New York. Photo Credit: BALAM Dance Theatre

Oleg Tambulilingan 2-min Excerpt (Love Dance of the Bumblebees) BALAM Dance Theatre's Nani Devi performs the popular Balinese dance, Oleg Tambulilingan for the Putnam County Dance Project show, "Taking Flight" in Carmel H...

🎂Join us in wishing BALAM Dance Theatre's artistic director, Carlos Fittante , a Very Happy Birthday! This jolly gingerbread person reminds us of him.

🎭 What's happening at BALAM Dance Theatre? Check our May newsletter for:

💫Words of praise for our choreography, teaching, and performing. 👏
🌹 Get ready for Mother's Day with a Spanish bolero Caracoles Antiguos featuring Barbara Romero's mesmerizing castanets!
💃Salute Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a spotlight on our Resident Balinese Artist, Nani Devi, performing the Oleg Tambulilingan .🐝
🎪 Good news from José Mateo Ballet Theatre — BALAM performs with Marblehead School of Ballet on June 6 at Dance for World Community Festival in Harvard Square!
🙏 From the archives with Gamelan Semara Ratih, Anom Putra (Anom Baris)and his wife Ayu Sukmawati — our sister organization and lifelong artistic mentor

🔗Check the Comments 👇to read BALAM's May newsletter, BALAM Digest.





Photo: Yumiko Niimi in Dancing the Lyra Way. Photo Credit: Julie Lemberger Photography