IV ENCONTRO INTERNACIONAL DE MÚSICAS E DANÇAS DO MUNDO - DANÇANDO PELA PAZ APOSTILA DAS DANÇAS TARANTELLA: SPIDER DANCE A Healing Dance and Percussion Workshop Professora: Alessandra Beloni Singer, Percussionist, Dancer, Actress • Director of Italian theatre Group I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA Artist in Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. • Author of the book/DVD RHYTHM IS THE CURE –Mel Bay Publications • A REMO Signature Series Artist with her own line of Italian tambourines. Biography Alessandra Belloni is the Artistic Director, Founder and Lead Performer of "I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA", an Italian Music, Theatre and Dance Ensemble who is Artists-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St.John the Divine in New York City. She is also the designer of a line of signature series Italian tambourines made by Remo, and of special brushes for tambourine with Pro- Mark.. She is the only woman in the U.S. and in Italy who specializes in traditional Southern Italian folk dances and percussion that she learned from the old people in the fields A tambourine virtuoso, singer, dancer and actress, Ms.Belloni was born in Rome, Italy and is committed to preserving the strong and rich traditions of her culture. She has performed extensively with master drummer Glen Velez and was invited by Nana Vasconcellos and Gilberto Gil to perform in PERC PAN '98 in Bahia, Brazil. Alessandra was also selected as one of three runners-up (along with Babatunde Olatunji and Mickey Hart) to Arthur Hull in DRUM! magazine's "New Age/Worldbeat Percussionist" category in their 1998 awards. She was featured in Modern Drummer magazine and has written articles for Percussive Notes. She has collaborated with the Raven Drum Foundation, founded by Rick Allen, acclaimed drummer of the rock group Def Leppard and other world famous drummers. VI Encontro Internacional de Músicas e Danças do Mundo – Dançando pela Paz - Bahia 2 TARANTELLA : Spider Dance: A Healing Dance and Percussion Workshop Rationale: The lives we live today are full of stress. This seminar shall give people the means to fortify themselves against such stress. Students shall become empowered through discovery of the ancient art of frame drumming and a technique of music and dance therapy that shall enable them to discover the means to achieve homeostatic balance and inner relief of stress, while restoring spiritual and physical energy. This endangered Southern Mediterranean tradition is an ancient form of therapy that has empowered women throughout the ages. The frame drum is the instrument used by ancient priestesses in the ancient cults of Cybele of Anatolia, Isis, and Artemis, whose worship continues in the devotion of the Black Madonna. Overview: Each class is designed to follow the method described in Rhythm is the Cure by Alessandra Belloni; this enables students to continue their studies independently after the course is complete. The course consists of eight weekly two-hour classes. Students shall begin each session with an hour of drumming followed by an hour of dance. Drumming: Students will learn the variations of the basic 6/8 rhythm of the Tarantella that originated as music and dance therapy to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula. Tammorriata: improvisational drumming, in 4/4 rhythm, and singing, traditionally played and danced in the rituals in honor of the Black Madonna (ancient rites of Cybele, the Earth Mother) every summer. Tarantella di San Rocco: a powerful 6/8 healing trance rhythm from Calabria, dating back to the Middle Ages, used to expel the fear of death during the time of plague. Tarantella alla Montemaranese: a Carnival dance from Montemarano (Naples) played on smaller tambourines, having an unusual syncopation of the 6/8 rhythm. This rite of Carnevale dates back to the Roman celebrations in honor of Bacchus, the God of ecstasy and wine. VI Encontro Internacional de Músicas e Danças do Mundo – Dançando pela Paz - Bahia 3 Pizzica Tarantata: a very fast 12/8 rhythm from Puglia, with varying accents, originally musical therapy to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula. This energetic rhythm was played mainly by women on medium size tambourines with a double row of jingles. The dance was performed as therapy to cure the mental disorder called tarantismo, a form of depression that afflicted mainly women (tarantate), who fell into a hypnotic state of mind. They danced frantically in a trance for days each year during the month of June. Originally these were the ancient Greek rites for the God Dionysus, as Puglia in the south of Italy was part of Greece and known as Magna Grecia. Dancing: Students will learn chants used to invoke the healing power of the sun and moon, male and female, and a repertoire of therapeutic dances accompanied by the beat of frame drums and tambourines. These unique dance movements trace their roots from Southern Italy back to ancient Greece, with influences from Egypt and Andalusia and Gypsies who traveled from Rajasthan through North Africa, Morocco, and Spain to Sicily and Calabria. Representing an unbroken chain of inspiration from pre-Christian times to the present, these dance movements embody and culminate the different dance traditions that we know today as Flamenco, Belly Dance, and Tribal Dance. Students shall be enraptured by these exciting and healing dances. The dances to be taught shall follow the order of the drumming in the first section. Tammorriata: an elegant and sensual dance from Naples, performed by couples playing castanets to the rhythm of the large drum, the Tammorra. It is a sacred dance in honor of the Black Madonna. Ritmo e Danza di San Rocco or Spinning Dance: originated in Calabria during the Middle Ages. It evokes the elegant and meditative movements of the Whirling Dervish ceremonies of the Sufis. This dance was used during the time of the plague to heal people and as a release from overpowering fears of death. Because of the trance- inducing movements and incessant spinning, many dancers enter ecstatic states. The session ends with a meditation utilizing a chant to the Sun, Jesce Sole, sung in the Lydian scale. The calming and lilting harmonies of this chant combined with the Ocean VI Encontro Internacional de Músicas e Danças do Mundo – Dançando pela Paz - Bahia 4 Drum guides students into a state of complete relaxation. Participants emerge feeling light and joyful after this healing journey through sound and dance. Tarantella de’600: a Renaissance folk dance, done in pairs, and very popular in Italy and throughout the Mediterranean. It contains both fast, energetic steps and combined arm and leg movements that improve coordination and balance. This invigorating dance has been called “Italian Aerobics.” Pizzica Tarantata: the wild rhythm of the Pizzica, played on medium size tambourines and accompanied by dance. It was performed as a ritual to cast out negative energy by producing a trance-like state, beneficial for the healing of many disorders and imbalances. Students will learn the steps of the Pizzica, “the bite,” building up to an ecstatic culmination when each student enters the circle and lays down on a white sheet, surrounded by red ribbons, emulating spider-like movements on the ground. This ritual dance releases stress and blockages of spiritual energy and opens the heart chakra in coordination with the lower chakra. Objectives: To introduce students to the rich rhythm and dance traditions of Southern Italy. The Tarantella, used to cure the mythical bite of the spider, has an active current performance practice. To learn the history of this powerful tambourine style, originally done mainly by women, dating back to the rites of the Mother Earth Goddess, Cybele, now worshipped as the Black Madonna. To bring women back in touch with their lost drumming tradition. For all students to learn the powerful Italian tamburello technique and to come to understand the healing and stress relieving effect of these rhythms and dances. To have students feel part of a community healing ritual as they use their bodies in movements that help open the heart chakra by holding the frame drum close to the chest, and the lower chakra by performing movements that assist them in remaining grounded. To release blockages of emotional and spiritual energies in the fast 6/8 rhythm of the Spider Dance, the Dance of Liberation, students will rid themselves of depression caused by the Spider Webs of living life that are woven around them. The importance of this course cannot be understated. The Tarantella is part of a rich Mediterranean tradition, well known in Italy but lost to Italian immigrants in the United States and trivialized by popular culture. Alessandra Belloni, tambourine virtuoso considered one of the world’s best percussionists, is the only woman in the United States and Italy who specializes in the southern Italian traditional tambourine technique and tarantella rhythms. She has taught drumming and dancing for the last thirty years and has been artist in residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine VI Encontro Internacional de Músicas e Danças do Mundo – Dançando pela Paz - Bahia 5 Students are encouraged to wear white clothes and red scarves, the ritual colors of the Tarantella. Women are encouraged to wear skirts and all are encouraged to be barefoot to remain grounded and close to the earth. ALESSANDRA BELLONI - REMO PERFORMING ARTIST Artist in Residence at Cathedral St. John the Divine 1047 Amsterdam Avenue – Studio #4 New York City, N.Y. 10025 Singer – Percussionist – Folk Dancer Artistic Director/Founder of I Giullari di Piazza Italian Folk Music, Theatre & Dance Tel: (646) 322-4637- Fax: (212) 932 7348 Email: [email protected] www.alessandrabelloni.com VI Encontro Internacional de Músicas e Danças do Mundo – Dançando pela Paz - Bahia 6 .