I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA

This concert, presented as part of Hofstra University's annual Italian Festival, features music from the CDs released by SoundsTrue & Naxos chosen as best Italian CD of the year by the New York Times and the Los Angeles and from the show TARANTELLE E CANTI D'AMORE presented to a sold out audience at Symphony Space in October 2009. The ensemble includes : Alessandra Belloni - lead vocals, percussion, ritual dance.Wilson Montuori - classical guitarSusan Eberenz - Flute, piccolo recordersMara Gerety - ViolinThe program also includes tarantella dancers:Francesca Silvano, Greta Campo, Peter De GeronimoThis concert is a fiery "journey" through the South of Italy featuring also magic rituals, sensual mystical trance dances performed as ritual by the women of Southern Italy, haunting love songs, lullabies, processional chants and ritual drumming in honor of the Black Madonna, known as Tammorriata, and more dances as well as original songs by Alessandra Belloni inspired by the rituals and rhythms of Brazil..The music comes from different regions of Italy, mainly Naples, Calabria, Sicily, Puglia and Sardegna, and it has been arranged with a very unique World Music Sound.The performance ends with the authentic Pizzzica Tarantata, the healing trance dance from Puglia used as an exorcism to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula, a mental disorder that afflicted mainly women, and which goes back to the ancient Greek rites of Dyonisus.A big feature of the show is the amazing stilt dancer Mark Mindek, who plays different masked characters while dancing wildly on stilts.At the end of our concert we invite the audience to dance the tarantella or “pizzica” in a celebration of life and good energy unique of the Italians using red ribbons in a circle.Alessandra Belloni’s links to TV appearances:Alessandra Belloni Live Appearance on ABC-TV7 Chicago http://youtu.be/3J9ZlzKLzPwAlessandra Belloni featured on CNN Worldbeat http://youtu.be/IkOqBrpcB9QAlessandra Belloni "Spider Sex documentary " on National Geographichttp://youtu.be/vp8dE3jJnq0Pizzicarella (Village Scene) from tarantella Spider Dancehttp://youtu.be/mWYG6r4ClVEYouTube Playlist: Tarantelle Canti D'Amore 10/30/09 at Symphony Space in New York 2009http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=79FD7875439A4D1C