CELEBRATE THE ANCIENT NIGHT OF THE TARANTULA & The FEAST OF THE TARANTATI, Traditionally celebrated in a Church With Internationally renowned Singer, Dancer, PercussionistALESSANDRA BELLONI & I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA Italian folk music & dance company " TARANTATA – SPIDER DANCE " TARANTELLA TRANCE DANCES, HEALING CHANTS FOR THE BLACK MADONNA FRIDAY JUNE 29 8:00pm – Cathedral of St John the Divine Tickets : $ 30Reservations: 866.811.4111 or www.stjohndivine.orgInternationally celebrated percussionist/singer Alessandra Belloni, joined by her performance troupe I Giullari di Piazza, will return to Cathedral of St. John the Divine for a , performance of with "Feast of the Tarantati" (Feast of Apulia), an ancient healing tradition with Tarantella trance dances and healing chants for the Black Madonna. In Italy, the ritual is traditionally celebrated in a church in Apulia. This will be the second time that Alessandra Belloni and I Giullari Di Piazza will reenact the ceremony inside a church in New York, making this a special annual tradition. At the conclusion of the performance, the audience will be invited to join in "releasing the poison and venom from our bodies and souls." I Giullari di Piazza is a resident company of Cathedral of St. John the Divine.The piece re-enacts an ancient Tarantati Trance Ritual, traditionally celebrated in Italy on June 29 (Feast of St. Paul) for the benefit of people, mainly women, who suffered from a form of depression or psychiatric disorder that was attributed to the bite of the tarantula. The company will stage the ceremony as it was done for many centuries around the altar in the small church of San Paolo di Galatina in the Apulia region (the heel of Italy's "boot"). The performance includes excerpts of the Christian ceremony's progenitor, which is based on ecstatic rites of Dionysus.