About Alessandra:
The only woman in the U.S. and in Italy with 45 years of performing and teaching the ancient healing tradition of Tarantella in folk dances and percussion combined with singing. Alessandra Belloni is also the proud receipient of the 2026 Heritage Fellowship award from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts for life time achievement as a Folk Arts Master.
- Artistic Director, Founder, and Lead Performer of music, theater, and dance ensemble I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA
- Artist in Residence at New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine
- A REMO Signature Series Artist with her own line of Italian tambourines
- Author of the book/DVD Rhythm is the Cure and Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna
LEARN MORE ABOUT ALESSANDRA HERE
Alessandra Belloni will air on State of the Arts this week!
The segment Aired on April 22nd on NJ PBS at 8:30pm, with additional broadcasts throughout the week.
WATCH HERE!
https://www.pbs.org/video/state-of-the-arts-rhythm-roots-ucoq5s/
This special 8-minute segment features my work as Master Folk Artist, and as recipient of the special NJ FOLK ARTS FELLOWSHIP in 2026!
This program is directed by a brilliant director, Nate Reninga, and produced by Jess Dotson.
The director filmed the show with my Italian Folk Music group I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA at the Bronx Heritage Hall, my healing dance and percussion workshop on the tarantella at CMDE in New Jersey, and a special interview at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where we are artist in residence.
Join us on three Saturdays:
Italian American Museum
151 Mulberry Street
New York, NY 10013
August 1, 8, and 15
2 to 5 pm
I Giullari di Piazza performing
LA TARANTELLA PER LA MADONNA NERA
Southern Italian Healing Music and Dances
On August 1 and 8, the group features
John La Barbera, Music Director, guitar, mandolin, chitarra battente, Sebastian La Barbera (mandolin, guitar), Mara Gerety (violin), Joseph Giannini (vocals, accordion), and dancers Peter Di Geronimo and Mark Mindek as the
commedia character Arlecchino.
Then on August 15, upon my return from my tours in Italy,
I will join the group on vocals and percussion!
ON AUGUST 15, featuring also:
ALESSANDRA BELLONI – Artistic director, vocals, percussion and special song for the Black Madonna and the feast of the Assumption.
This concert is a fiery "journey" through the South of Italy featuring also ceremonial dances performed as ritual and as processional chants and ritual drumming in honor of the Black Madonna, known as the Tammurriata from Naples, and more dances as the tarantella calabrese, pugliese and Napoletana.
The music comes from different regions of Italy, mainly Naples, Calabria, Sicily, Puglia, and it has been arranged with a very unique World Music Sound. The performance ends with the authentic Pizzica Tarantata, the healing dance from Puglia used to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula, a form of depression that afflicted mainly women, and which goes back to the ancient Greek rites of Dionysus.
This special presentation will also include the Commedia dell'Arte Arlecchino improvising skits with the audience in the streets and with the cast members.
As recipient of the New Jersey State Arts Council Fellowship, we are happy to be featured at the
New Jersey Folk Festival
on August 29th!
We will be appearing on the
Pinelands Narrative Stage
at 11:15 am
The Festival will be held at
Davidson's Mill Pond Park
Entrance on 42 Riva Avenue
North Brunswick Township, NJ 08902
More information about the New Jersey Folk Festival HERE.
You can also still see the special episode of PBS-WNET's State of the Arts, featuring Alessandra as Master Folk Artist.
View it HERE, by video on demand!
Celebrate the Feast of the Black Madonna, Sept 6th
with drumming & dance workshops in New Jersey
Internationally renowned singer, percussionist, and teacher Alessandra Belloni
Author of Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna
invites you to:
CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF THE BLACK MADONNA MADONNA SCHIAVONA, Madonna of Montevergine, protector of gays and transgenders
and OUR LADY OF FREEDOM (Madonna della Libera)
Featuring the traditionial TAMMURRIATA --
After her successful Pilgrimage and tour in the region of Campania, on the Amalfi Coast, and on the sacred mountains, Alessandra will hold
A DANCE AND DRUMMING WORKSHOP FOR
THE FEAST OF THE BLACK MADONNA
with dancers AMARA & Peter di Geronimo
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2025
5:00 pm to 8:00pm EST
Center for Modern Dance Education (CMDE)
84 Euclid Avenue, Hackensack NJ
(201) 342-2989
This powerful journey will introduce and transport the audience to a time and place where an unbroken and ancient tradition continues today with folk music, processions, devotional drumming, and dance. It will feature Alessandra Belloni's field research taken during her most recent pilgrimage in Campania, provide a panoramic view of the sacred sites of the Black Madonna in this region, known in the Italian folk tradition as the "Seven Sisters."
Students will learn:
A unique style of traditional Southern Italian frame drum & tambourine playing, including variations of the 4/4 rhythm of the Tammurriata.
These rhythms and movements represent an unbroken chain of inspiration and expression of sound and dance, dating back to the rites of the Mother Earth Goddess Cybele, and kept alive into the present. We will learn the history of this powerful tambourine style, traditionally done by women. Empowering women to get in touch with their ancient frame drumming traditions.
THE DANCE OF THE TAMMURRIATA - This elegant and sensual dance from Naples is performed by couples playing castanets to the rhythm of the large drum, called the Tammorra. The dance movements have a strong Spanish and Middle Eastern flourish. These movements are set to the beat of African 4/4 rhythms. The Tammurriata is based upon an improvisational style of drumming and singing usually enacted during the summer rituals in honor of the ancient Earth Goddess Cybele, and later, the Black Madonna.
• Sacred chants of the Divine Feminine, now known as Mamma
Schiavona, and the sacred mountain of Montevergine, where there is a devotion of
• The ancient tradition of the femminielli - gay and transgender
devotees of Mamma Schiavona and La Madonna della Libera, with a strong connection to the Goddess Isis.
How to Register:
Email to: alessandrabelloni@gmail.com or blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
Participants need to have a tambourine or frame drum,
at least 12 inches wide.
Alessandra's own design is available for purchase,
made in collaboration with REMO
for the Southern Italian tambourine technique.
http://www.alessandrabelloni.com/store
Alessandra may have drums for sale at the workshop.
**Please wear white clothing with red if possible**
$75 at the door and $65 in advance
(for each workshop)
You can pay by Paypal: @blackmadonnacenter
blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
VENMO or ZELLE will also be possible,
information coming soon.
CELEBRATE THE FALL EQUINOX!
Experience the healing power of tarantella rhythms and dance
featuring Southern Italian ritual dances used as music
and dance therapy for centuries throughout the Mediterranean.
TARANTELLA WORKSHOP
Featuring Dancer AMARA
SUNDAY, September 20
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Center for Modern Dance Education (CMDE)
84 Euclid Avenue, Hackensack NJ
(201) 342-2989
Participants will learn the unique Southern Italian style of tambourine playing and the ancient healing trance dance of the tarantella, used to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula. The workshop focuses on releasing blockages of energies, breaking the imaginary "spider web" of the subconscious.
Students shall begin each session with drumming followed by an hour and half of dance. Then they 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.
Alessandra will also teach chants and songs of devotion to the Black Madonna and to the Sun (Jesce Sole).
During these series of workshops, the participants will learn:
TAMBOURINE TECHNIQUE:
The basic technique of holding the drum, with emphasis on arm movement, wrist and elbow technique.
Basic accented fast 6/8 rhythm used for different style tarantellas, which involve different variations of hand technique including finger trills on the tambourine skin.
THE RITUAL DANCE:
Pizzica Tarantata, a very fast 6/8 rhythm from Puglia, with different accents, which originated as music therapy to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula. This wild rhythm, played mainly by women on medium-size tambourines with a double row of jingles and the dance were performed as a musical exorcism to cure a mental disease called tarantismo, which afflicted mainly women (tarantate), who fell into a hypnotic state of mind, and in a trance they frantically danced for days during the Summer Solstice. Originally these were the ancient Greek rites for the God Dionysus as Puglia was part of Greece and was called Magna Grecia.
The purpose of this workshop is to introduce general audiences to a very rich tambourine and folk dance culture with an active current performance practice in Southern Italy and also to bring women back in touch with their lost drumming tradition.
How to Register:
Email to: alessandrabelloni@gmail.com or blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
Participants need to have a tambourine or frame drum,
at least 12 inches wide.
Alessandra's own design is available for purchase,
made in collaboration with REMO
for the Southern Italian tambourine technique.
http://www.alessandrabelloni.com/store
Alessandra may have drums for sale at the workshop.
**Please wear white clothing with red if possible**
$75 at the door and $65 in advance
(for each workshop)
You can pay by Paypal: @blackmadonnacenter
blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
VENMO or ZELLE will also be possible,
information coming soon.
Annual Rhythm is the Cure Retreat in Hawaii
RHYTHM IS THE CURE
Jan 25 - Feb 1, 2027
Healing Dance and Percussion Workshop
from Southern Italy in Hawaii!
Healing Dance and Percussion Workshop
from Southern Italy from Hawaii!
More Information Click HERE
Rhythm is the Cure is an 8-day, intensive healing workshop featuring Southern Italian ritual music and dance used as therapy for centuries throughout the Mediterranean. This new workshop will blend the Southern Italian musical traditions of the Black Madonna, and the Divine Feminine. Every morning drumming sessions will be held on the beach.
For questions about registration, please contact us!
CONTACT:
The World Needs Healing !
Join Internationally renowned singer, percussionist,
teacher, author Alessandra Belloni -
Remo Artist & the BLACK MADONNA CENTER
In this Special Online Series,
Now Available Again on TEACHABLE:
THE VOYAGE OF THE BLACK MADONNA
A VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE SACRED SITES
OF THE BLACK MADONNA IN SOUTHERN ITALY
Written, narrated, produced & directed by Alessandra Belloni
Copyright (c) Alessandra Belloni 1991-2019-2021
An immersive journey into the musical & healing traditions of Southern Italy & the Black Madonnas' sacred sites in the regions of CAMPANIA, SICILY, CALABRIA, BASILICATA
Including: 8 Episodes - 3 hours of video series & lectures,
plus lyrics to the sacred chants in honor of the Black Madonna
Based on Alessandra's book Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna
published by Inner Traditions (2019), with preface by
best-selling author Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox
Happy to share the book is still a best-seller on Amazon, under Dance!
Click HERE to register and download THE VIDEO SERIES
as an online course through TEACHABLE for only $200
Also available on Teachable: Alessandra's Beginning Southern Italian Fram Drum in Honor of the Black Madonna. Normally sold separately for $150, Get both courses as a Bundle for $300 !
MORE INFORMATION ON BOTH COURSES HERE!
Read About Alessandra's Best Selling Book:
THE HEALING JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA
Published by Inner Traditions, with a foreword by bestselling author Matthew Fox, Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna is rated 5 stars on Amazon and has been No. 1 best selling in new releases under the categories of "Folk Dancing" and "Suggested Gifts"!
Sharing her more than 35 years of research and fieldwork at sacred sites around the world, Belloni takes you on a mystical pilgrimage of empowerment, initiation, and transformation with the Black Madonna.
An experiential guide to the ancient healing rituals of the Black Madonna:
• Reveals the practices and rites of the still-living cult of the Black Madonna in the remote villages of Southern Italy, including the healing rites of the tarantella dance
• Details shamanic chants, rhythms, and songs and how to use them for self-healing, transformation, and recovery from abuse, trauma, depression, and addiction
• Explores the many sacred sites of the Madonnas and connects them to other Great Goddesses, such as Isis, Aphrodite, Cybeles, and the Orisha Yemanja and Ochun
• Includes access to 12 audio tracks
Order now!
Read Alessandra Belloni's Best Selling Book Healing Journey's with the Black Madonna TODAY!
NOW AVAILABLE IN FRENCH!
Alessandra is proud to announce that her book HEALING JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA published by Inner Traditions Bear & company (a best seller on Amazon under dance) is now being published in France, translated into French by a great Publisher, LE DUC with preface by brilliant writer and teacher Marianne Grasselli.
LA VIERGE NOIRE (The Black Virgin) Rituels de Guerison de la Grande diesse.
https://espritdefemme.ch/les-vierges-noires/
https://www.editionsleduc.com/produit/2577/9791028522278/voies-de-guerison-avec-la-vierge-noire?fbclid=IwAR3T42PStTqqwwAr8_zpxWM5Etj9dPp6VQv1DZL_pY8-PzxMrbxi1Y09MFk
WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT
Donate to Our Campaign to Preserve Our Legacy for Future Generations
CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT ALESSANDRA BELLONI AND THE BLACK MADONNA CENTER FUNDRAISER TODAY
(All Donations are Tax Deductible)
YOUR FUNDING WILL HELP US TO:
• Preserve 45 years of photos, videos, music scores, folk operas, promotional posters, program playbills, and past recordings from vinyl, cassettes, and CDs, including solo works by individual members of I Giullari di Piazza — into a digitized Master Archive;\
• Present and produce new live performances and complete ongoing projects;
• Fund educational pilgrimages and workshops in Campania, Sicily, and beyond;
• Pay adequate artists’ fees, technical crew, and administrative costs for a cast of 5 to 12 artists (depending on the scope of productions); and professional marketing personnel; and . . . .
• Our Magnum Opus: Establish officially the very first Folkloric School & Black Madonna Mystery School. To perpetuate the legacy of our deep studies, wisdom, heritage, and traditions of the Black Madonna, the school will offer TEACHER TRAINING: An intensive 3- to 6-month program with final certification, allowing the candidates to share the legacy of Alessandra’s work and passion.
OUR GOAL
We need to raise $7,000 by the end of 2025 so that we can continue this important work, to keep our programs alive and thriving, and to continue to inspire and heal future generations.
Please give what you can and share this campaign widely. Together, we can keep the voice of the Black Madonna and Southern Italy's healing dances and folk traditions alive.
CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE via GoFundMe
I Giullari di Piazza is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Please consider keeping art alive by supporting I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA a non profit organization under the 501 c-3 code by clicking on the gofund me campaign above!
