DAUGHTERS OF CYBELE Women Drummers Visit Joes Pub 3/29

Celebrate Women's History Month with internationally renowned Italian singer/percussionist Alessandra Belloni and her new women's ensemble

'DAUGHTERS OF CYBELE'
Women Drummers for World Peace
featuring sacred chants and drumming in honor of the Black Madonna and the healing women's trance dance, the Pizzica Tarantata

One Performance Only:
Sunday March 29, 9:30 PM (doors open at 9 PM)
Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street
Tickets: $20 at the door; $18 in advance
Reservations: 212-967-7555 or www.joespub.com

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Italian music and dance company I Giullari di Piazza, Alessandra Belloni has assembled "Daughters of Cybele," a unique ensemble of women using voice, percussion and ritual dance to honor the healing power of female energy. Performance will take place at Joe's Pub, Sunday March 29 at 9:30 PM, and feature:
Alessandra Belloni - vocals, Southern Italian tambourines, frame drums, harmonium, ritual dance
Alessandra Tartivita - soprano, frame drums
Lorraine Calculli - frame drums, shakers
Olimpia Avignone - African percussion, dumbeck, frame drums
Allison Scola - vocals, tambourine, clarinet
Francesca Silvano - ritual dance
and special guest
Haruka Fujii - pandeiro, riqq, world percussion

Countries around the world, including Southern Italy, Brazil, Africa and the Middle East,
share musical traditions based on the power of women. Alessandra Belloni and her company will emulate one of the most ancient ways of praying and healing, including sacred chanting to the Black Madonna sung by female voices in harmony, accompanied by various percussion instruments (tambourines, shakers, djembes, ballaphones, frame drums, dumbecks, riqqs, mazhars, and marimbas). Dancers will spin and stomp their feet in celebration of life and peace as they perform the healing trance dance of the Tarantella.

With "Daughters of Cybele," Alessandra Belloni carries on the tradition of Roman priestesses who played the tambourine in worship of Dionysus, god of ecstasy and wine, and the Earth goddess Cybele, now worshipped as the Black Madonna.

Belloni states: "Now, more than ever, it is important to bring attention to the healing effect of drumming and dance on women who have been abused. Women in Italy now are going through a very difficult time with rape and abuse becoming more popular and almost accepted by society." With "Daughters of Cybele," a concert about the cycles of womens' lives, she wishes to bring awareness during Women's History Month on this current situation, and to send healing to the women who have been victims in Italy and around the world.

Alessandra Belloni, a native of Rome, is an internationally recognized singer, percussionist, dancer and actress, and a pioneer in the preservation of Southern Italian folk culture. A REMO signature series artist, she appears in concert as a solo artist throughout the world and with her company, I Giullari di Piazza, which she co-founded with John La Barbera. She has recorded numerous CDs, and has written the book Rhythm is the Cure, an expert study of Southern Italian percussion, ritual music, and ritual dance.

Workshops
Alessandra Belloni teaches workshops around the world, mainly to women. Her mission has been to heal women with the rhythm of the tarantella, which originated as music and dance therapy for those who suffered from depression or physical problems. Her goal is to empower women through the healing effect of the tarantella drumming and dance.
The next workshop is March 21, 11 AM to 5 PM at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY
31-10 Thomson Avenue, LIC
For information: 718/482-7244 or www.peopleware.net/ace

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