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BALAM Dance Theatre to Perform

Traditional Balinese Dance and Fusion

in

Lotus Music and Dance’s 2026 World Dance Festival: Dancing Across Cultural Borders.

(New York, New York; November 10, 2026) -- BALAM Dance Theatre (BALAM) presents ‘Dancing Across Borders: Bali in NYC!’, a program of Balinese dance and fusion in Lotus Music and Dance’s ‘2026 World Dance Festival: Dancing Across Cultural Borders’. The company opens the show with three pieces on Saturday, November 21 from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at John Jay College’s The Gerald W. Lynch Theater, located at 524 West 59th Street between 10^th and 11^th Avenues in New York, New York.

Two other dance companies, Gorana Bulgarian Dance and Feraba: West African Rhythm and Tap, will also perform on Saturday. The three companies will perform from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tickets for the performance -- $25 for students and seniors, $30 for general admission, and $150 for patrons – may be purchased online or by calling 212-627-1076 or contacting studiomanager@lotusmusicanddance.org. At intermission, a meet and greet will take place with the artists. The event’s venue is wheelchair accessible.

BALAM, a New York City-based professional, non-profit dance company, is renowned for its well-researched, imaginative cross-cultural work.  Rooted in the opulent, enthralling aesthetics of Balinese theatre, the company’s eclectic repertoire features the intricate skills of Balinese dance fused with ballet, modern dance, and diverse cultural styles and various historic periods. BALAM’s use of eclectic music, striking masks, vibrant costumes, and fantasy stories appeals to audiences of all ages and backgrounds to create a performance experience that both entertains and educates.

Balinese Dance Program

For this program, BALAM will perform these three pieces covering ballet, modern and diverse cultural dance styles with Balinese theatre.

• Shanti Pendet (Blessing Dance). In Bali, dance performances are preceded by a brief blessing of the performance area, usually performed by a local village priest or priestess. When a priest or priestess is unavailable, a performer may stand in to complete the ritual, as a theatrical, stylized presentation. This staged blessing makes the space energetically receptive and safe for the performance and honors and invites the Balinese gods and ancestor spirits to partake in the event.

Dancer: Carlos Fittante

• Oleg Tambulilingan (Love Dance of the Bumblebees). This popular Balinese dance choreographed in 1952 by the star Balinese dancer, I. Ketut Marya, known artistically as Mario, depicts a courtship between two bumblebees. Commissioned by British-Canadian impresario John Coast, Mario created the work for a tour of Europe and the United States and took inspiration from a book of the Sleeping Beauty ballet. This piece provides a Balinese response to a Western romantic concept of male-female courtship. 

Dancers: Nani Devi, Carlos Fittante

• Ramayana: Abduction of Sita 

This action-packed story ballet inspired by the Hindu epic is BALAM’s signature Balinese fusion dance work. Developed over a ten-year period by BALAM's Founding Director, Islene Pinder, and the company's Artistic Director, Carlos Fittante, Ramayana: Abduction of Sita presents themes of greed, deception, love, faithfulness, temperance and justice through the dynamic adventure of four mythic characters. Each character represents an aspect of the human psyche and heralds the triumph of moral over immoral action.

Dancers: Toshinori Hamada, Yumiko Niimi, Robin Gilbert, Carlos Fittante

Choreography: Islene Pinder, Carlos Fittante, Toshinori Hamada (Fight)

Music: Gamelan Semara Ratih  

Costumes and Set designed by Islene Pinder after the traditional

"Reviving BALAM's Ramayana: Abduction of Sita for the 2026 Lotus World Dance Festival offers a special opportunity for BALAM to revisit a defining work for the company. Of all the Balinese-themed works in our repertoire, this one best captures Founding Director Islene Pinder's pioneering, Balinese-inspired vision,” said Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director and President of BALAM Dance Theatre.

 About BALAM Dance Theatre

Founded in 1979 by choreographer and movement researcher, Islene Pinder, BALAM Dance Theatre offers a new vision of contemporary dance rooted in the dazzling opulence and magical aura of Balinese theatre. 

The New York City-based dance/theatre company creates a unique entertainment experience that has universal appeal. Audiences of all ages and backgrounds enjoy BALAM’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.  

BALAM Dance Theatre has been featured at numerous festivals and venues, including First Night New York, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and Downtown Dance Festival. The company has also performed throughout the United States and internationally. BALAM has received praise from the New York Times and Village Voice, the Governor and people of Bali and the Indonesian Consulate of New York, as well as others. 

For further information, call 646-361-9183 or visit BALAM Dance Theatre on its blog. Follow the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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