Alessandra Belloni

Attend a Master Class with Award winner percussionist/singer/teacher/author Alessandra Belloni. Alessandra is renowned worldwide performing & teaching at international percussion festivals, theaters, universities. She is a REMO artist, with her signature series Italian tambourines; author of the book & DVD “Rhythm is the Cure,” with Mel Bay & of HEALING JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA by Inner Traditions, rated 5 stars & best seller on Amazon. Belloni is Artistic Director/Lead Performer of I Giullari di Piazza, Italian Folk Music & Dance Company Artist in Residence at the Cathedral of St John the Divine. The only female artist in the world who specializes in Southern Italian tambourines combined with singing & dance, selected as one of the best percussionists in the world by DRUM! Magazine, won the Master Folk Artist grants from the New York State Council on the Arts. Acclaimed in the NY & L.A. Times, toured to festivals in England, Brazil, Poland, France, Italy, Australia

What is PASIC? Join PAS November 10 – 13, 2021 for one of the largest drum and percussion events in the world – the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC)! Featuring concerts, clinics, panels and presentations given by the finest artists from all over the world, PASIC 2021 will showcase all areas of percussion — drum set, marching, keyboard, symphonic, world, recreational, education, music technology, new music, and health & wellness.

Join Alessandra Belloni - renowned singer, percussionist, teacher, author for THE VOYAGE OF THE BLACK MADONNA VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE SACRED SITES OF THE BLACK MADONNA IN SOUTHERN ITALY Celebrate Italian Heritage Month in Calabria with this Virtual Pilgrimage & tarantella calabrese! Thursday October 21 - 6:30 PM EST to 8:30 pm EPSIODE 6 - 2 parts: Honoring The Black Madonna di Romania from Tropea & La Madonna dei Poveri (Seminara) Calabria Following the story of Alessandra's new book, "Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna" (Inner Traditions - Bear and Co., 2019) THE CENTER FOR THE BLACK MADONNA’S first offering: “The Voyage of the Black Madonna Virtual Pilgrimage to the Sacred Sites of the Black Madonna in Southern Italy.” Link will be sent after you register at: https://thecenterfortheblackmadonna.teachable.com/.../vir... As online course through TEACHABLE https://thecenterfortheblackmadonna.teachable.com/ email ABelloni@aol.com ENROLLMENT IS STILL OPEN for special & unique online course THE VOYAGE OF THE BLACK MADONNA, virtual Pilgrimage to the Black Madonna in Southern Italy - now you can travel virtually and visit HER powerful shrines, 8 EPISODES for a total of 3 HOURS narrated by me, plus songs & lectures. Featuring footage filmed on location from 1991 to 2019, following the journey described in my book HEALING JOURNEYS WITH THE BLACK MADONNA, published by Inner Traditions - Bear & Company - - and our Opera, premiered at the Cathedral of St John the Divine, with music by composer and guitarist John La Barbera. We now have 70 students! I hope you will register for the next live session on October 21 Featuring EPISODE 6 part 1 & 2 Honoring CALABRIA! The Black Madonna of Romania from Tropea and Our Lady of the Poor from Seminara and authentic tarantella Calabrese filmed in Calabria and live! vand live music from the opera with composer and guitarist John La Barbera and Gypsy Joe on the accordion. We will end with a Q&A! You can keep this online series, Click on the link below to register & for more information email ABelloni@aol.com Cost of single session : $ 50 https://www.everbutton.com/pay/6349 THURSDAY OCTOBER 21 at 6:30pm EST An immersive journey into the musical & healing traditions of Southern Italy & the Black Madonnas Inspired by the Opera THE VOYAGE OF THE BLACK MADONNA with music by John la Barbera Episode 6 PART 1 Madonna di Romania | Tropea (Calabria) We arrive at the medieval town of Tropea at sunset, as the light settles into the volcano Stromboli. Stromboli is one of the seven Aeolian Islands of Sicily, also known as the Seven Sisters – just like the Black Madonnas. Alessandra has been visiting Tropea since 1980 when she and John LaBarbera came to learn the cultura e music populare, studying, eventually, with master folk musician Vittorio de Paola. You will see Vittorio playing the Tarantella Infuocata – the fiery tarantella—on an organetto – a button accordion. This 6/8 rhythm is part of the healing tradition of tarantellas that helps people break free from depression and sadness. You’re invited to get up, dance, and spin to this hypnotic tarantella as Alessandra plays tambourine to this traditional tarantella with her mentor. Tropea, which translates to “trophy,” was once part of Magna Grecia, although the town itself pre-dates the Greek colony. The small cobblestone streets wind their way down to the sea, where, legend has it, the Byzantine icon of the Black Madonna di Romania was found. La Madonna di Romania, whose icon dates to 1330, is responsible for many miracles in this small village which are celebrated with a powerful procession on her feast day on September 8th. in 1638, warning him of a major earthquake and saved Tropea as they carried her icon through the streets. During the Middle Ages she also protected the town from the plague. As our visit draws to a close, consider getting up from your seat to dance to the fiery, haunting rhythms of the tarantella that Alessandra performs with local musicians from the group OFFICINA KALABRA and dancer Anna Maria Pugliese. EPISODE 6 PART 2- Madonna dei Poveri | Seminara (Calabria) We will dance our way from Tropea to Seminara to the powerful drumming ritual and procession in Honor of LA MADONNA DEI POVERI, Our Lady of the Poor celebrated on August 14th continuing a tradition very popular in the Middle Ages as exorcism against the plague. on August 14th, for the feast of the Madonna dei Poveri. We gather in procession to the sound of snare drums led by Tonnino, the capo banda of the drummers. These drummers play complicated 6/8 tarantellas using drum sticks playing incredibly fast with a driving bass line underneath. In the first ritual, larger than life puppets known as i Giganti reenact the ancient fertility ritual that happens when the Italian Queen Mata and the African King Grifone meet. The puppets are dressed in regal splendor and, in a ritual tarantella dance that pre-dates the Middle Ages, they reenact a ritual courtship that results in a kiss symbolizing the unification of the African and Southern Italian cultures. We hear it in the collision of snare drums and tarantella, in the bass drum that echoes the heartbeat of the earth. Variations of this ritual can be found in Sicily, Malta, Spain, and even Brazil. In the second ritual of devotion a man dressed in white and blue carrying a palio -- a large flag -- erotically between his legs, the pole tied to his arm so that he can perform his circular dance. As the 6/8 drum plays and the crowds cheer, he careens against and into the earth, spinning and dropping to his knees in an ancient fertility rite. When we arrive at the church we find a large haunting statue. Carved of dark brown wood the color of the Earth itself, La Madonna dei Poveri her presence is overwhelming. She is dressed simply in an ancient tunic, wearing beautiful silver jewelry with her son on Her lap as she sits in an ornate throne that takes a dozen men to carry on procession through the town, followed by her devotees singing eviva Maria! and the palio bearer who dances erotically around the statue of the Madonna, as if he were going to impregnate her with his flag. Like the ritual of i gigante, this ritual ends with a kiss, completing the rite and promising the Earth will continue to nourish us if we continue to nourish her. The Voyage of the Black Madonna promo for a documentary film by Alessandra Belloni https://youtu.be/aE0Kg6A2Yi0

JANUARY 27 to FEBRUARY 3rd 2022 in a new peaceful setting, in Oahu: WINDWARD Quaker RETREAT CENTER : www.windwardretreat.org

Drumming classes will be held on the beach every morning!

NEW THIS YEAR: SPECIAL FEATURE HULA CLASSES with Auntie Nettie Armitage Lapilio On the tradition of PELE Hawaiin Goddess of the Earth She is a fully recognized Kumu Hula and Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner. She has been teaching Hula, Hawaiian Language and Music for 48 years. She is a practitioner of Ho’oponopono, a Traditional Hawaiian practice for healing both family and professional relationships. She is a highly sought-after professional musician and educator in Hawaiian circles.

Also featuring special guest Father Phil Harmon, founder of Kahumana Farm, a theologian who specializes in the Divine Feminine and the Black Madonna and will hold classes in the evening in the Black Madonna Chapel of the Steiner center.

Special prices at : $750 for the workshops, plus accommodations and food see below: A 25% deposit is required ASAP to hold the room at the retreat center Double $ 360 including cleaning fees deposit required 25% - special food fresh organic catering provided by Davina $40 per day for 3 meals

Payment can be may be made by VENMO ZELLE 0r with everbutton links available soon

Join us for a week you will always remember. Register today! DURING THE RHYTHM IS THE CURE WORKSHOP Participants will learn:

The unique style of tambourine playing and the ancient healing trance 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. Drumming classes will be done on the beach every morning!

Objectives of the workshop are:

--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.

--To bring women back in touch with their lost drumming tradition.

--To make the participants feel part of community-healing ritual

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.

THE PIZZICA TARANTATA – The wild 6/8 rhythm of the Pizzica, played on medium size tambourines and accompanied by dance and song, was performed as an exorcism ritual that produced a trance-like state beneficial for healing many mental-health disorders and imbalances. As part of a re-enactment of this healing ritual, participants will play a circle and learn the ceremony : a dance where they’ll create “spider-like” movements on the ground, releasing stress and blockages of energy.

Alessandra ends the sessions using the ocean drum, creating the sound of waves in a final relaxation invoking the healing power of the water with chants to the Goddess of the Sea, the Sun and the Black Madonna. Participants are encouraged to wear white and red, and women to wear skirts. Father Phil’s Course Description:
An orientation to the teachings and practices of the Western Esoteric traditions, the Mystics, and the Saints, presented by Archpriest Philip, on 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.

ABOUT THE LOCATION: Windward Retreat Center The center is a place Friends and family from around the world can come together to learn, experience, and grow, in an environment of awe-inspiring beauty and tranquility. The Windward Retreat Center was designed for educators and non-profit groups looking for a special space to hold retreats, workshops, and meetings. The main meeting room is ideal for yoga, Qigong, or other open spaced events. It also can be configured for conference, classroom, or lounging. SIGHT & SOUNDS: Integrated sound and video systems were designed to bring multimedia presentations alive. High speed internet and wi-fi keep guests connected. ACCOMMODATIONSAll overnight guests will be treated to wonderful nights sleep. All beds are the finest quality hotel beds that are triple sheeted for a five-star nights sleep. The Windward Retreat Center is a nonprofit organized in a manner consistent with the traditions, testimonies, faith and practice of the Religious Society of Friends (the Quakers).

PLEASE REGISTER BY OCTOBER 15 ! The workshop fee is 750 Registration fee $150 (due by October 15) (Non Refundable) Click here to register https://www.everbutton.com/pay/4005 Remaining Workshop Tuition $600 (due November 30) Click here to pay remainder of tuition https://www.everbutton.com/pay/4006

PLEASE REGISTER EARLY Workshop is limited to 12 students****

Any questions? Contact us at ABelloni@aol.com