BALAM Dance Theatre – The Garden of Love in Miniature

The dances in this performance are inspired by two themes seen in Baroque art, the miniature and nature. For the Baroque noble, the latter offered opportunities to be in nature, to show off and be seen, to convene with a lover, and to commune with one’s private thoughts. The imagined characters presented in this work draw upon romanticized images of the Unicorn Tapestries, circa 1500, at The Cloisters of The Metropolitan Museum, and the idyllic pastoral scenes painted by François Boucher. Also, Baroque dance choreographies by dance masters Louis Pecour and Raul-Auger Fueillet were used to inspire BALAM’s stylized historically informed choreography, as were the mysterious and fantastical Balinese theatrical elements of a hand carved wooden mask, and a pair of golden scroll leather wings. The result is a feel-good entertainment that suggests the French Baroque operatic entr’act divertissement.

Dongmyung Ahn ~ violin
Dongsok Shin ~ harpsichord
Lisa Terry ~ viola da gamba
Ryan Closs ~ theorbo
Eugenia Forteza ~ dancer (Madama Amorina)
Yumiko Niimi ~ dancer (bird)
Carlos Fittante ~ dancer (Apollo, deer, male lover) & choreographer

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Beautiful! This is the first time I’ve ever seen this type of dance.