*Dance Theatre*

*/A new vision of contemporary dance/*

Carlos Fittante-Artistic Director, Islene Pinder-Founding Director

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Luhrs & Associates, Publicist, 201-592-9126,
luhrsassocpress[at]verizon.net
Carlos Fittante, Artistic Director, 646-361-9183


*BALAM Dance Theatre to Kick Off 30th Anniversary Season with /Defining
Diversity/
--Receives Grant from Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation--*


(March 7, 2009-New York, NY) -- BALAM Dance Theatre (BALAM) announces
that the dance theatre company has received a discretionary grant of
$2,500 from the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation. BALAM, a unique
New York dance ensemble that creates a new vision of contemporary dance
by fusing ballet and modern dance styles with Balinese theatre and
diverse cultural movement styles from around the world, was founded in
1979 and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2009.

"BALAM Dance Theatre thanks the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels
Foundation for its support of our work with this grant. The
Foundation's assistance will help BALAM bring its Out and About program,
an initiative to inspire, entertain, educate and rejuvenate the
community through dance and the arts, to the public. Over 5,000 people
were served through this initiative at the grassroots level in the 2008
season with the company's presentations in several programs," said
Carlos Fittante, artistic director, BALAM Dance Theatre.

BALAM kicks off its 30th anniversary season with the premiere of
/Defining Diversity/, a new educational performance developed for the
Freshman Year Initiative at Lehman College. The program will be
presented at the Lovinger Theatre on Monday, March 30 from 11-12:40 pm.

The special program will feature BALAM's cutting-edge fusion
choreography and three culturally diverse dance styles -- Balinese,
Spanish and Afro-Caribbean. Baroque violinist Leah Nelson will join the
guest companies of Danzas Españolas and Kaleidoscope of Kultures Dance
Theatre.

_*The BALAM History**
*_ BALAM offers a new vision of contemporary dance that emanates from
a cutting-edge fusion of diverse cultural dance styles and movement
techniques. 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 fusion repertoire blends boldly
divergent dance styles and 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, Lee, Massachusetts, and many others. The company has also
appeared internationally at the Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar, Bali and
the 2nd Encuentro Internacíonal de Danza Contemporánea in Cancún, Mexico.

The company's work has received critical recognition 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, please call 646-361-9183 or 646-515-3493 or
visit BALAM Dance Theatre on the web at www.balamdance.org.

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