Alessandra Belloni

Special World festival, Bell'Italia sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute, Dr Silvio Marchetti Director contact: Mary Ann at segr.iicchicago@gmail.com or Dilan Rice drice@navypier.com Alessandra Belloni & I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA present a special music and dance cocnert, Featuring special guest artist from Italy Gianni De Gennaro, viella, accordion, bagpipe, percussion, Steve Gorn, bansuri flutes, saxophone, clarinet, Susan Eberenz, flutes, piccolo, recorders, Wilson Montuori guitar, Francesca Silvano ritual dance, Mark Mindek, stilt dancer. I Giullari di Piazza, New York's Southern Italian folk music/dance/theater company now in its 31th year, presents a program of ecstatic dances, musical exorcisms, and the tarantella trance dance. The program includes excerpts from the company's production “Tarantella - Spider Dance” which feature the wild erotic dance ritual (pizzica tarantata) from Southern Italy used to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula (“the bite of love”). This ancient healing trance dance and exorcism was used to cure a mental disorder called tarantismo, which afflicted mainly women, who felt stuck in the spider web of their society. The program also includes the tarantella delle streghe  from the Renaissance; the medieval danza della morte, the spinning dance to send away the fear of death performed on stilts; powerful ritual drumming and healing chants in honor of the Black Madonna; lullabies; love ballads; and original songs by Alessandra Belloni , the group's -founder and director.