Alessandra Belloni - Singer, percussionist, dancer, teacher, author

ALESSANDRA BELLONI

Singer, Percussionist,
Dancer, Actress

Tel: (646) 322-4637 - ABelloni@aol.com

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. She is the only woman in the U.S. and in Italy who specializes in traditional Southern Italian folk dances and percussion combined with singing that she learned in Southern Italy.

    An award winning 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. Author of the book ‘HEALING JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA” published by Inner Traditions- Bear & Company. With foreword by best selling author Matthew Fox.   

Recently knighted as Dame of Honor by the Orthodox Order of the Knights of St John.

Collaborated as consultant on the Broadway show ‘THE ROSE TATTOO’ with award winning actress Marisa Tomei in the fall 2019. 

For the last 19 years she has been holding her special dance & drumming workshop in Tuscany RHYTHM IS THE CURE, with students that come from all over the world.  Recepient of the Folk Arts Master Grant from the New York State Council on the Arts 2016 & 2018.

Her work as teacher and healer brought her to be featured on CUNY TV with her workshop RHYTHM IS THE CURE, and  main feature of the Russian TV Travel Channel The Dancing Planet,  a documentary film about her as artist and healer by Manex Ibar. her TV appearance include: ABC TV live in Chicago, National Geographic documentary SPIDER SEX  on the Tarantella, WORLD BEAT on CNN, , GLOBO BRAZILIAN TV,  RAI UNO MATTINA,
Also featured on the PBS documentary, "LA FESTA"

with The Voyage of the Black Madonna. She leads healing drum circle at UNITED HEBREW Nursing Home since 2011.

 She has spent many years also participating in authentic drumming festivals in remote areas of Southern Italy, held as rituals of purification in honor of the Black Madonna.. She has performed extensively with master drummer Glen Velez (her first tambourine student) and was invited by Nana Vasconcellos and Gilberto Gil to perform in PERC PAN '98 in Bahia, Brazil.  Voted one of the best female percussionists in the world by Drum Magazine, featured in Modern Drummer magazine and has written articles for Percussive Notes.      Her CD’s "Tarantelle & Canti D’amore" released by Naxos of America on 2003 has been considered the second best percussion CD of the year by DRUM Magazine and has received many favorable reviews from major press.
     The CD "Tarantata: The Dance of Ancient Spider" (on the Soundstrue label) released in 2000, has received a wide critical acclaim and distribution. It was also nominated one of the best CDs of the year (2002) by Jon Parales from the New York Times and Dan Hackman from the Los Angeles Times, and won the Best World Percussion CD of the Year by DRUM Magazine.
      Alessandra Belloni created a new World Music Sound with her group, using electronic music combined with acoustic, in her new show TARANTELLA SPIDER DANCE, with electric violin master Joe Deninzon . This show has been bound for an off-Broadway run, always presented to sold out audiences. Spider dance was recently presented with great audience and press success at the prestigious RED CAT THEATRE AT Disney Center in Los Angles, with CAL ARTS.  She has recently founded a Women’s percussion ensemble called DAUGHTERS OF CYBELE . She tours the world  her one woman show "Rhythm is the Cure" ,  With her ensemble from New York she tours across the U.S. and abroad, performing and teaching workshops in various Festivals and halls –

 

 In New York:

LINCOLN CENTER, CARNEGIE HALL, SYMPHONY SPACE, ST. JOHN THE DIVINE, RIVERSIDE THEATRE JOE’S PUB ,THEATRE FOR THE NEW CITY Juilliard, Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, NYC Ballet

Percussion Festivals

PATAGONIA PERCUSSION FESTIVAL ARGENTINA

KOREA PERCUSSION FESTIVAL
BERKLEE  PERCUSSION FESTIVAL
, Boston

CROSS DRUMMING (Warsaw, Poland), PERC PAN, (Salvador,  Bahia, Brazil, )

KOSA PERCUSSION FESTIVAL (Vermont)

SEATTLE WORLD PERCUSSION FESTIVAL

CAPE BRETON DRUM FESTIVAL (Canada)

PERC FEST and PAS , Italy
JOURNE DE LA PERCUSSION, Paris, France

RHTYHM STICKS, (Royal Festival Hall, London)

PASIC 1996, 97,  2000 (Dallas), 2003/2010/2013
DRUMMING AT THE PYRAMIDS ( Egypt),  Oberlin Athens, (Ohio ) University of Buffalo, Fredonia (NY) Conservatory of Milan (Italy) , Royal Marine School of Music (England), NYU Percussion Conservatory, CAL ARTS, University of Hawaii, Wisdom University

 

WORLD MUSIC FESTIVALS:

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, DUBROVNICK, CROATIA, RED CAT THEATRE in Los Angeles WOMAD (Seattle and Sicily), NEW ORLEANS JAZZ FESTIVAL , CHICAGO FESTIVAL LOTUS , Indiana, RHYTHM STICKS, Royal Festival Hall (London)  MONTREAL MUSIC FESTIVAL, Canada,

ACOUSTICA FESTIVAL, (Sidney, Australia)
Getty Center, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Sacred Music Festival, Glastonbury Goddess Festival, England, Cultural Center in Tel Aviv (Israel)

IN ITALY:
ROME: PALLADIUM , QUIRINO AND ARGENTINA THEATRES, VENICE
(Musica Venezia), Conservatory of Venice, LERICI, SORRENTO JAZZ, TARANTELLA POWER . WOMAD, Palermo

IN BRAZIL :  REC BEAT, Recife, PERC PAN, Bahia, Sau Paulo Teatro Oficina, Maranhao, Belo Horizonte


       Alessandra Belloni has studied acting at H.B. Studios, voice with Professor Michael Warren, and mime and Commedia dell'Arte with Dario Fo (winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Literature) at New York University. She has worked in both theatre and film in New York - "Next Stop the Greenwich Village" by Paul Mazursky - and in Italy with Anna Magnani in "La Lupa" and Federico Fellini in "Casanova". Ms. Belloni founded "I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA" - a company performing traditional Italian Folk Music and Theatre – with classical guitarist/composer John La Barbera in 1979 and was Artist-in-Residence at New York University for ten years. Fluent in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese plus Southern Italian dialects, Alessandra Belloni also speaks through her tambourine and drums.
.For her achievements in music and theatre, she won the following  awards: achievement in performing arts by Association of Italian American Educators, from the ITALIAN ORAL HISTORY INSTITUTE IN Los Angeles, Fall 2005, Award for Italian American Woman of the Year in 1996 and the Community Arts Project Award from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as well as the Sons of Liberty "Citation of Honor" award in 2001. residency with the Women Studies program at SUNY Fredonia. 

Recordings:

HEALING JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA 2019 Inner Traditions

LA CANTATA DEI PASTORI -Christmas CD 2015

TARANTELLA SPIDER DANCE 2009

DAUGHTER OF THE DRUM –REMO, INC. 2007
TARANTELLE E CANTI D’AMORE – 2003
Naxos World
TARANTATA: THE DANCE OF ANCIENT SPIDER – Sounds True - MOTHER EARTH LULLABIES  - Ellipsis
EARTH, SUN AND MOON - Lyrichord 1995
DIVINE DIVAS - Rounder Compilation 1997
GLOBAL CELEBRATIONS - Ellipsis Arts 1993
DEA FORTUNA - Shanachie 1989
SULILLO MIO - Shanachie 1985

She is the Company’s director, writer,
and lead performer of the Folk Operas:"

TARANTELLA SPIDER DANCE - The Dance of the

 

Ancient Spider"premiered at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, VOICES OF THE TARANTATE, NYC
"Stabat Mater: Donna de Paradiso"
(Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
"The Voyage of the Black Madonna"
(Cathedral of St. John the Divine)
"1492-1992: Earth, Sun and Moon"
 Lincoln Center out of Doors Festival 1992
"La Cantata dei Pastori" (Caramoor , St. John the Divine, Smithsonian and others)
"La Lupa"  (St. Mark’s Church, YALE, and others)
"The Adventures of Don Giovanni & His Servant Pulcinella" (Carnegie Hall and others)

Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote:
"Invocations and work songs, exorcisms and lullabies shared the program of RHTHM IS THE CURE in the Chapel of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.... Driven by tambourine patterns so fast that the drummer’s hands became blurs. Ms. Belloni sang in an exultant voice. The songs blazed with an age-old momentum" .
Dan Hackman – Los Angeles Time:
Alessandra Belloni and Tarantata  Dance of the Ancient Spider is a revelation, utterly fascinating..”

 

Drum Magazine:

 

Italian-born virtuoso Alessandra Belloni is established as a unique phenomenon, not just a percussionist,  she is an actress, lecturer, entertainer, a healer,  above all archetype….

 

Ric Mattinly- Modern Drummer:

 

With her left hand she uses a variety of techniques to produce a wide range of timbers, incorporating thumb strokes, finger strokes, slaps.

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

Previous events

To celebrate the holidays Italian style, the 43rd anniversary of I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA and our music directors birthday! John La Barbera , sharing food, drink and wonderful music while we celebrate four decades of Alessandra's Belloni's work! During this holiday end-of-year fundraiser, you will meet special people as we also honor Tony and Obie award-winning producing artist and formerly Artistic/Executive Director of Cherry Lane Theatre Angelina Fiordalisi, Award Winning actor Saverio Guerra, Director & Cinematographer Lisa Leone, and Award-Winning Author, Therapist & CEO Alex Iantaffi. Tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/igiullaridipiazza/1043310? You will have the opportunity to listen to Alessandra Belloni, author of the book "Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna", published by Inner Traditions-Bear & Company. This fund raiser will also help Alessandra raising funds for her upcoming knee surgery December 21, and her recovery time. This will be such a special celebration of over four decades of work for I Giullari di Piazza, a non profit organization, who are artists in residence at the Cathedral of St. John Divine and who have also performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Symphony Space, to name but a few. The joyous afternoon will include a performance of "Tarantata," by award winning percussionist, singer, author Alessandra Belloni with composer, guitarist John La Barbera, founders of I Giullari di Piazza, in their famed production of "Tarantata," an impeccably researched production rich with songs, tarantellas, and magic rituals used to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula, along with healing chants and ritual drumming in honor of the Black Madonna. With its authentic music, costumes, and instrumentation, Belloni and company here unite the fascinating and similar legends, traditions, and musical rhythms of Southern Italy and Brasil. And, as always, the fun concludes with audience members being invited to join the cast for a "raise the roof" tarantella. Featuring: Alessandra Belloni - Artistic Director, Percussions and Vocals John La Barbera - Music Director, Composer, Guitar, Mandolin, Chitarra Battente Wilson Montuori - Guitar Joe Deninzon - Violin Steve Gorn - Bansuri Flutes, Saxophones, Clarinet Dancers - Amara & Mark Mindek also playing the commedia character Arlecchino www.alessandrabelloni.com www.igiullaridipiazza.org www.facebook.com/alessandrabelloni54 instagram@belloni.alessandra Press quotes: Don Hackman, writing in the Los Angeles Times, found that "Alessandra Belloni and "Tarantata: Dance of the Ancient Spider" is a revelation, utterly fascinating." Drum Magazine noted that "Italian-born virtuoso Alessandra Belloni is established as a unique phenomenon, not just a percussionist, but also an actress, lecturer, entertainer, and healer." Jon Pareles of The New York Times, reviewing an I Giullari di Piazza show, remarked that "Ms. Belloni sang in an exultant voice. The songs blazed with an age-old momentum." Do not miss this wonderful winter celebration of life, joy, and community! Tickets and donations include dinner and the performance, 75% tax deductible Can't make it to the fundraiser? You can still I Giullari di Piazza non-profit organization under the 501-c-3 code and Alessandra Belloni;s work by donating here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/black-madonna-center General Admission $125.00

Ticket plus a program listing and a CD $150.00

VIP Ticket plus a program listing, CD & Book $175.00

FILM PRESENTATION! Black Madonna Pilgrimage & Summer Solstice Musical Celebration in Sicily

On December 13th, 2023 Internationally renowned singer, percussionist, teacher Alessandra Belloni, Author of ‘HEALNG JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA” together with I Giullari di Piazza Italian Music and Dance company

Filmed, directed and edited by Francesco Piccolo in the summer 2023 produced by Alessandra Belloni & The Black Madonna Center Join us for A MUSICAL JOURNEY TO THE BLACK MADONNA IN SICILY & THE SUMMER SOLSTICE at the MEGALYTHS OF ARGIMUSCO & the ANCIENT SOLSTICE PAGAN FEAST OF U’ MUZZUNI December 13th Celebrating the Feast of Santa Lucia with the Sicilian Folk Music LA SANTA LUCIOTA We will begin with the screening of the film to be followed by live Sicilian Folk Music, featuring: ALESSANDRA BELLONI , artistic director vocals & percussion JOHN LA BARBERA , music director , guitarist & composer , chitarra battente & mandolin STEVE GORN on bansuri flutes, saxophone and clarinet WILSON MONTUORI – Guitar – JOE DENINZON - violin Joseph Giannini accordion and vocals (to be confirmed) · Special guests from Sicily on zoom from the group SUDCANTICA: Federico Chiofalo - accordion, tambourine, guitar, Sebastiano Pietrini - vocals, guitar, tambourine, Santino Scordino – vocals, bagpipe, tambourine, Jew’s harp Francesco Piccolo- film director, editor

Connect with Alessandra!

Connect with I Giullari!

Join My Mailing List

Enter your email address