Press Release - October 27, 2007
BALAM Dance Theatre’s Carlos Fittante Appears in West Coast Premiere of Wayang Blues
--Balinese Gods Offer Sunny Santa Barbara a Lesson on Marital Bliss--
BALAM’s artistic director Carlos Fittante and BSB’s dancer Denise Woods appeared in the West coast premiere of Wayang Blues. Photo Credit: David Brazemore
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director, 646-361-9183 (cell phone)
Joyce Luhrs, Publicist, 201-592-9126,
BALAM Dance Theatre’s Carlos Fittante Appears in West Coast Premiere of Wayang Blues
--Balinese Gods Offer Sunny Santa Barbara a Lesson on Marital Bliss--
(New York, New York—October 27, 2007)--Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director of New York City-based BALAM Dance Theatre (BALAM) and Artistic Associate of Ballet Santa Barbara (BSB), appeared recently in the West coast premiere of Wayang Blues in BSB’s fall season, Les Petits Ballets Santa Barbara, presented at the Center Stage Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara, California. Fittante, who also choreographed the new piece, performed the humorous, but poignant duet with BSB’s Denise Wood.
Wayang Blues follows a bride and groom's descent into "happily ever after” set to recorded hits by jazz legend Etta James. This witty dance-theatre piece incorporated striking Balinese masks worn by the dancers and a shadow puppet love story excerpted from the Hindu epic, “Ramayana”, presented through a delightful video animation created by David Bengali. Several reviewers praised the premiere piece and the performance.
’Wayang Blues’ was the latest offering from BSB artistic associate Carlos Fittante, whose expertise in mask work always yields surprises. This time, a couple of Balinese puppets did battle with the gods while dancers presented parallel stories of love and its attendant conflicts – each vignette a new take on the pleasures and pitfalls of partnering.
-- Elizabeth Schwyzer, Santa Barbara Independent
Wayang Blues by Carlos Fittante was very entertaining with a couple in love doing their comic dance in masks.
-- Paul Foster Froeming, Santa Barbara Daily Sound
The BALAM History
Islene Pinder, a City University of New York dance educator and choreographer, founded BALAM in 1979 to bring the mesmerizing Balinese dance style to New York. In 1990, Spanish-American choreographer and the School of American Ballet graduate Carlos Fittante became the company’s artistic director and unveiled a new vision of contemporary world dance inspired by Balinese theatre. BALAM’s cutting-edge fusion of cultures and dance styles and movement skills, including ballet, Baroque, Horton, Spanish, Latin, ballroom, Noh and karate, captivate audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
BALAM has been featured at numerous prominent festivals and venues in the United States, including First Night New York, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, La Mama Experimental Theatre, and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. The company has also performed internationally at the Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar, Bali and the 2nd Encuentro Internacíonal de Danza Contemporánea in Cancún, Mexico.
BALAM has performed and taught at numerous educational institutions, such as Lehman College, Yale University, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Washington University in St. Louis, and others.
The company’s work has received critical recognition from the New York Times and Village Voice. The Governor of Bali, the Semara Ratih Gamelan of Ubud, Bali, and the Indonesian Consulate of New York have highly commended its performances.
Performance
Shadow Puppets: by Bagus from the village of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Costume by Ann Bruice