Dancing the Lyra Way
Company:
BALAM Dance Theatre
BALAM Dance Theatre opens its 2026 season with ‘Dancing the Lyra Way’ at the esteemed Gotham Early Music Scene’s Midtown Concerts on Thursday, February 12 from 1:15 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. EST at St. Malachy's-The Actors’ Chapel, located at 239 West 49th Street, New York, New York 10019. This imaginative program will be presented both live and virtually by Midtown Concerts, a project of Gotham Early Music Scene.
The program is open to the public, and admission is FREE. No tickets or reservations are required. People unable to attend the live performance may view the program worldwide online on February 12 at https://www.youtube.com/@MidtownConcerts/streams.
Performance Details
Imagine being shipwrecked and rescued by your betrothed! This romantic vignette comes to life in ‘Dancing the Lyra Way’, BALAM Dance Theatre’s new Baroque choreography inspired by the vivid lives of King James I of England and his queen, Anne of Denmark, presented in time for St. Valentine’s Day.
BALAM Dance Theatre will perform in a concert created in collaboration with the acclaimed viol duo Lyra Way, featuring a delightful program of rare 17th-century viol music played masterfully by musicians Lisa Terry and Niccola Seligmann. Lyra Way performs repertoire for two bass viols played “lyra way” by 17th-century English composers Tobias Hume, Thomas Ford, and Alfonso Ferrabosco II.
The new artful choreography brings together a dynamic trio of dancers—Yumiko Niimi, Carlos Fittante, and Erin Hunter Jennings—who enact a series of stylish Baroque episodes, exploring themes of adventure, marriage, and estrangement, culminating in a powerful communal dance celebrating peace and prosperity. Jennings, the co-director of Putnam County Dance Project, makes her debut with BALAM in this enchanting program. For further information about the concert, go to https://gemsny.org/midtown-concerts/ .
BALAM, a New York City-based professional, non-profit dance company, is renowned for its well-researched and imaginative cross-cultural work. Rooted in the opulent and enthralling aesthetics of Balinese theatre, the company presents a contemporary vision of cultural
