New York City Stars to Shine in Diverse World Dance Celebration, Fiesta Odalan

NEW YORK, NY, April 18, 2013 (Press-News.org) Fiesta Odalan will bring the world together on April 28 with dances and movements spanning from Japan to Peru and music from Bach's Cello Suite to Balinese gamelan. The star-studded performance celebration will feature Broadway actor/Lee Strasberg Theatre master teacher Irma Sandrey, Baroque dancer/Boston Early Music Festival co-choreographer Carlos Fittante, American Virtuosi Artistic Director Kenneth Hamrick, Parthenia, A Consort of Viols violon cello specialist Lisa Terry, and the world's only flamenco, stand-up comedian Inma Heredia.

BALAM Dance Theatre (BALAM), a nonprofit, New York City-based dance theatre company, will present Fiesta Odalan at the Greenwich House School of Music, Rene Weiler Recital Hall, 46 Barrow Street, New York, New York, on Sunday, April 28 at 6:00 p.m. Limited seating is available. For further information, contact BALAM Dance Theatre at 646-361-9183.

The doors open at 5:30 p.m. Reservations and/or advanced ticket purchases are required. The starting suggested ticket donation is $30 and $20 for students. One complimentary drink is included with a $30 ticket purchase. Tickets may be purchased at http://www.balamdancetheatre.blogspot.com, or send a check made out to BALAM Dance Theatre to the organization's office: BALAM Dance Theatre, 319 West 18th St, Apt 4C, New York, NY 10011.

BALAM offers a new vision of contemporary dance by fusing diverse cultural dance styles and historical periods with contemporary dance and Balinese theatre. "BALAM's late founding director, Islene Pinder, left the company an extraordinary legacy that we are boldly carrying into the future. The new pathways of the company can be summed up by the name of this event, fiesta is Spanish for party, and odalan is Indonesian for temple celebration. With this celebration, BALAM skillfully brings together diverse world dance forms and historical periods to delight and transport its audience," said Carlos Fittante, BALAM Artistic Director.

The celebratory performance will highlight BALAM's favorite pieces and new works rarely seen, including Balinese, Baroque, Escuela Bolera and Colonial Peruvian dances; Japanese Noh; mask and pointe ballet work; and Commedia dell'Arte. A video excerpt from Ms. Pinder's groundbreaking choreographic work and personal Balinese archive will be shown. Dancers performing in the celebration are BALAM's resident Balinese guest artist Nani Devi and BALAM's company dancers Robin Gilbert, Toshinori Hamada, Dianna Warren, and Anton Nadal.

About BALAM

BALAM offers a new vision of contemporary dance that emanates from a cutting-edge fusion of diverse cultural dance styles and historical periods. 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 repertoire blends boldly divergent movements genres, including ballet, Spanish, Lester Horton, Baroque, Latin, Hip-Hop, drag, 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 in Lee, Massachusetts and many others. The company has also appeared internationally at the Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar, Bali and the 2nd Encuentro Internac�onal de Danza Contempor�nea in Canc�n, Mexico.

The company's Out and About touring series presents high quality professional programming that is both entertaining and educational at the grass roots level. Critical recognition has been received 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.

For further information, call 646-361-9183 or visit BALAM Dance Theatre on the web. Stay updated about the company's new work, events, activities and announcements on Facebook and Twitter.