Alessandra Belloni

Alessandra will be joined by special guest instructors:

Amara

Dance therapist & lead dancer in Alessandra’s New York based company I Giullari di Piazza and Belly Dance master
Amara will lead special sessions in dance movement therapy:
Embodied Awareness
The sessions are designed to build the Mind/Body Connection within the Self through movement, meditation, and breath work within the framework of somatic therapy, which is also known as dance movement therapy. Become one with your Self, your movement, and your breath in this course through anecdotal guides and exercises that will bring you back home into your body - leaving you feeling grounded, aligned, and connected also to the
The Divine Feminine Within
Utilizing feminine and goddess archetypes from across cultures and historical contexts to promote a sense of femininity within the Self and to add fluidity, grace, and power to one’s repertoire of movements. The identification of different goddesses in their alignment with the chakras, as well as movements embodying these divine archetypes will be taught.
 

Father Phil Harmon

Archpriest, founder of Kahumana Farm & Retreat Center, a theologian who specializes in the Divine Feminine and the Black Madonna and will hold classes in the evening giving an orientation to the teachings and practices of the Western Esoteric traditions, the Mystics, and the Saints, the Black Madonna as the Earth-Mother in a Feminine Divine Trinity, with the Holy Sophia, her Celestial-Daughter, and with the Sacred Soul (Holy Spirit) and our Angelic Companions as the Being who unites the Earth and the Heavens.

Hula Master Auntie Nettie Lapilio

She is a fully recognized Kumu Hula and Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner. She has been teaching Hula, Hawaiian Language and Music for 50 years. 

Retreat Objectives:

WE WILL LEARN THE FOLLOWING RHYTHMS AND DANCES in 4 full days and 1 half day on the beach will be the Yemanja ritual offering flowers into the ocean, drumming, chanting and dancing! 

PARTICIPANTS WILL LEARN:

• The unique style of tambourine playing and the ancient healing dance of the tarantella, used to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula.
•  Alessandra will also teach sacred chants of the Black Madonna from Southern Italy and other parts of the world.
• To learn the history of this powerful tambourine style, originally done mainly by women, which dates back to the rites of the Mother Earth Goddess Cybele, now worshiped as the Black Madonna and to come to understand the healing and stress-relieving effect of these rhythms and dances.

STUDENTS WILL LEARN THE FOLLOWING RHYTHMS AND DANCE RITUALS:

TAMMORRIATA  

A powerful rhythm set to an African beat played in 4/4 time in honor of the black Madonna, originally ancient rites for the Earth Goddess Cybele. It accompanies a sensual dance from Naples danced with castanets to the rhythm of the large drum called Tammorra.

RITMO E DANZA DI SAN ROCCO (SPINNING DANCE)

This dance, originating in Calabria during the Middle Ages. It was danced during the time of the plague to help people release the overpowering fear of death. Due to the trance-inducing movements and incessant spinning, many people enter ecstatic states during this dance, similar to the Whirling Dervish ceremonies.