From la Befana to LA TARANTA, we will kick off the New Year with good energy and a powerful musical exorcism playing and dancing the Pizzica tarantata and other healing trance dances known as Tarantella from Southern Italy! Join us on January 15 at 8pm EST, live from TOM TEDESCO’S STUDIO! This performance is sponsored by the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles! To watch the FREE live performance go to the IAMLA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/iamofla
FEATURING : Alessandra Belloni vocals, percussion, John La Barbera, classical guitar, chitarra battente , mandolin, Joe Deninzon violin vocals and mandolin, and our dancer Francesca Silvano.
The Tarantella, an ancient dance ritual that originates in the belief that a bite from the dreaded tarantula spider produces hysterical behavior in its victims, who were typically women. To cure her suffering, musicians play a fast-tempoed rhythm, to which the afflicted performs a hypnotic dance until she finally drives the venom from her body. Join the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles and the Italian Sons and Daughters of America on January 15 for TARANTATA, The Dance of the Ancient Spider, a virtual concert and interactive program featuring world-renowned percussionist, singer, dancer, and ethnomusicologist Alessandra Belloni with music director composer John La Barbera.