About Alessandra:
The only woman in the U.S. and in Italy with 45 years of performing and teaching the ancient healing tradition of Tarantella in folk dances and percussion combined with singing. Alessandra Belloni is also the proud receipient of the 2026 Heritage Fellowship award from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts for life time achievement as a Folk Arts Master.
- Artistic Director, Founder, and Lead Performer of music, theater, and dance ensemble I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA
- Artist in Residence at New York City's Cathedral of St. John the Divine
- A REMO Signature Series Artist with her own line of Italian tambourines
- Author of the book/DVD Rhythm is the Cure and Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna
LEARN MORE ABOUT ALESSANDRA HERE
Alessandra Belloni will air on State of the Arts this week!
The segment Aired on April 22nd on NJ PBS at 8:30pm, with additional broadcasts throughout the week.
WATCH HERE!
https://www.pbs.org/video/state-of-the-arts-rhythm-roots-ucoq5s/
This special 8-minute segment features my work as Master Folk Artist, and as recipient of the special NJ FOLK ARTS FELLOWSHIP in 2026!
This program is directed by a brilliant director, Nate Reninga, and produced by Jess Dotson.
The director filmed the show with my Italian Folk Music group I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA at the Bronx Heritage Hall, my healing dance and percussion workshop on the tarantella at CMDE in New Jersey, and a special interview at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where we are artist in residence.
Journeys with the Black Madonna with Alessandra Belloni
Thu Sep 3, 2026 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM EDT
Online, Zoom
Buy tickets HERE
Step into a living stream of ancient healing as this immersive webinar explores the sacred traditions of the Black Madonna in Southern Italy. Inspired by the award winning documentary and the Amazon best selling book Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna, Alessandra Belloni guides participants through a powerful path of initiation, transformation, and empowerment. Drawing on decades of research and embodied practice, she reveals how devotional music, ritual drumming, and ecstatic dance open gateways for healing the heart and soul.
Through rare footage never before shown outside Italy, participants are invited into a world where ritual and magic are still alive. From Sicily to Campania and beyond, we encounter the sacred sites of the Black Madonnas known as the Seven Sisters. We experience the rhythms of the tammurriata, the haunting beauty of women’s chant, and the vibrant feast day celebrations that honour these powerful figures. These traditions are rooted in ancient women’s wisdom and the veneration of the Earth Mother, carrying echoes of Cybele, Isis, and other mother goddesses whose presence continues to resonate today.
This is an intimate and participatory journey that reveals how the Black Madonna remains a source of protection, healing, and liberation, especially for those on the margins. Through music, story, and ritual, Alessandra Belloni brings to life a lineage where sacred sound and movement reconnect us with the living Earth and the deep feminine power that sustains all life.
The webinar starts at 3pm NYC / 8pm UK / 9pm CEST. A recording will be available for all ticket holders for 30 days.
Celebrate the Feast of the Black Madonna, Sept 13th
with drumming & dance workshops in New Jersey
Internationally renowned singer, percussionist, and teacher Alessandra Belloni
Author of Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna
invites you to:
CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF THE BLACK MADONNA MADONNA SCHIAVONA, Madonna of Montevergine, protector of gays and transgenders
and OUR LADY OF FREEDOM (Madonna della Libera)
Featuring the traditionial TAMMURRIATA --
After her successful Pilgrimage and tour in the region of Campania, on the Amalfi Coast, and on the sacred mountains, Alessandra will hold
A DANCE AND DRUMMING WORKSHOP FOR
THE FEAST OF THE BLACK MADONNA
with dancers AMARA & Peter di Geronimo
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2025
5:00 pm to 8:00pm EST
Center for Modern Dance Education (CMDE)
84 Euclid Avenue, Hackensack NJ
(201) 342-2989
This powerful journey will introduce and transport the audience to a time and place where an unbroken and ancient tradition continues today with folk music, processions, devotional drumming, and dance. It will feature Alessandra Belloni's field research taken during her most recent pilgrimage in Campania, provide a panoramic view of the sacred sites of the Black Madonna in this region, known in the Italian folk tradition as the "Seven Sisters."
Students will learn:
A unique style of traditional Southern Italian frame drum & tambourine playing, including variations of the 4/4 rhythm of the Tammurriata.
These rhythms and movements represent an unbroken chain of inspiration and expression of sound and dance, dating back to the rites of the Mother Earth Goddess Cybele, and kept alive into the present. We will learn the history of this powerful tambourine style, traditionally done by women. Empowering women to get in touch with their ancient frame drumming traditions.
THE DANCE OF THE TAMMURRIATA - This elegant and sensual dance from Naples is performed by couples playing castanets to the rhythm of the large drum, called the Tammorra. The dance movements have a strong Spanish and Middle Eastern flourish. These movements are set to the beat of African 4/4 rhythms. The Tammurriata is based upon an improvisational style of drumming and singing usually enacted during the summer rituals in honor of the ancient Earth Goddess Cybele, and later, the Black Madonna.
• Sacred chants of the Divine Feminine, now known as Mamma
Schiavona, and the sacred mountain of Montevergine, where there is a devotion of
• The ancient tradition of the femminielli - gay and transgender
devotees of Mamma Schiavona and La Madonna della Libera, with a strong connection to the Goddess Isis.
How to Register:
Email to: alessandrabelloni@gmail.com or blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
Participants need to have a tambourine or frame drum,
at least 12 inches wide.
Alessandra's own design is available for purchase,
made in collaboration with REMO
for the Southern Italian tambourine technique.
http://www.alessandrabelloni.com/store
Alessandra may have drums for sale at the workshop.
**Please wear white clothing with red if possible**
$75 at the door and $65 in advance
(for each workshop)
You can pay by Paypal: @blackmadonnacenter
blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
VENMO or ZELLE will also be possible,
information coming soon.
CELEBRATE THE FALL EQUINOX!
Experience the healing power of tarantella rhythms and dance
featuring Southern Italian ritual dances used as music
and dance therapy for centuries throughout the Mediterranean.
TARANTELLA WORKSHOP
Featuring Dancer AMARA
SUNDAY, September 20
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Center for Modern Dance Education (CMDE)
84 Euclid Avenue, Hackensack NJ
(201) 342-2989
Participants will learn the unique Southern Italian style of tambourine playing and the ancient healing trance dance of the tarantella, used to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula. The workshop focuses on releasing blockages of energies, breaking the imaginary "spider web" of the subconscious.
Students shall begin each session with drumming followed by an hour and half of dance. Then they will learn the variations of the basic 6/8 rhythm of the Tarantella that originated as music and dance therapy to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula.
Alessandra will also teach chants and songs of devotion to the Black Madonna and to the Sun (Jesce Sole).
During these series of workshops, the participants will learn:
TAMBOURINE TECHNIQUE:
The basic technique of holding the drum, with emphasis on arm movement, wrist and elbow technique.
Basic accented fast 6/8 rhythm used for different style tarantellas, which involve different variations of hand technique including finger trills on the tambourine skin.
THE RITUAL DANCE:
Pizzica Tarantata, a very fast 6/8 rhythm from Puglia, with different accents, which originated as music therapy to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula. This wild rhythm, played mainly by women on medium-size tambourines with a double row of jingles and the dance were performed as a musical exorcism to cure a mental disease called tarantismo, which afflicted mainly women (tarantate), who fell into a hypnotic state of mind, and in a trance they frantically danced for days during the Summer Solstice. Originally these were the ancient Greek rites for the God Dionysus as Puglia was part of Greece and was called Magna Grecia.
The purpose of this workshop is to introduce general audiences to a very rich tambourine and folk dance culture with an active current performance practice in Southern Italy and also to bring women back in touch with their lost drumming tradition.
How to Register:
Email to: alessandrabelloni@gmail.com or blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
Participants need to have a tambourine or frame drum,
at least 12 inches wide.
Alessandra's own design is available for purchase,
made in collaboration with REMO
for the Southern Italian tambourine technique.
http://www.alessandrabelloni.com/store
Alessandra may have drums for sale at the workshop.
**Please wear white clothing with red if possible**
$75 at the door and $65 in advance
(for each workshop)
You can pay by Paypal: @blackmadonnacenter
blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
VENMO or ZELLE will also be possible,
information coming soon.
Annual Rhythm is the Cure Retreat in Hawaii
RHYTHM IS THE CURE
Jan 25 - Feb 1, 2027
Healing Dance and Percussion Workshop
from Southern Italy in Hawaii!
Healing Dance and Percussion Workshop
from Southern Italy from Hawaii!
More Information Click HERE
Rhythm is the Cure is an 8-day, intensive healing workshop featuring Southern Italian ritual music and dance used as therapy for centuries throughout the Mediterranean. This new workshop will blend the Southern Italian musical traditions of the Black Madonna, and the Divine Feminine. Every morning drumming sessions will be held on the beach.
For questions about registration, please contact us!
CONTACT:
Study ONLINE with Alessandra!
Internationally renowned singer, percussionist, teacher, author Alessandra Belloni - Remo Artist proudly announces two self-paced courses on the Black Madonna:
“The Voyage of the Black Madonna Virtual Pilgrimage to the Sacred Sites of the Black Madonna in Southern Italy.”
A Virtual Pilgrimage
Immerse Yourself in the Healing Musical Traditions of the Black Madonnas of Southern Italy!
RHYTHM IS THE CURE ONLINE SOUTHERN ITALIAN AND FRAME DRUMS AND TAMBOURINE Zoom Classes
Starting in September
Zoom: Percussion Classes
We will trace this style of percussion through the ages, from its ancient Greek roots, through the Italian Middle Ages and Renaissance, and its relevance today. We will study and practice basic tarantella tamburello techniques: holding the drum with emphasis on arm movement, hand technique for triplets, and the 6/8 and 4/4 rhythms.
Class sessions will be 12 lessons divided in 4 parts, will be held on Zoom weekly (90 minutes) and will be recorded.
BEGINNERS MONDAYS AT 6:00PM EST
INTERMEDIATE WEDNESDAY AT 6:00PM EST
ADVANCED THURSDAY AT 6:00 pm EST
COST $60 PER CLASS, $200 FOR 4 CLASSES
REGISTRATION VENMO Alessandra Belloni
zelle 646 322-4637
paypal blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
4 classes: $200 https://buy.stripe.com/14AeVe2IW0ke3Wobxi83C0n
1 class: $60 https://buy.stripe.com/6oUdRa0AOaYS8cE30M83C0o
Zoom: Singing Classes: HEALING WOMEN CHANTS & SACRED SONGS FOR THE BLACK MADONNA, with guitarist composer John La Barbera
2 FRIDAYS PER MONTH
Each lesson will feature 2 songs from a specific southern Italian region: Campania, Calabria, Puglia, Sicily, and Lazio. We will describe the history, myths and legends that are part of this rich ancient folk tradition. You will receive lyric sheets with translations, and sheet music if available.
Class sessions will be 8 lessons and will be held on Zoom twice a month, for 90-120 minutes.
Classes will be recorded on zoom . registration, $60 per class, please register for 2 classes
venmo Alessandra Belloni
paypal blackmadonnacenter@gmail.com
The World Needs Healing !
Join Internationally renowned singer, percussionist,
teacher, author Alessandra Belloni -
Remo Artist & the BLACK MADONNA CENTER
In this Special Online Series,
Now Available Again on TEACHABLE:
THE VOYAGE OF THE BLACK MADONNA
A VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE TO THE SACRED SITES
OF THE BLACK MADONNA IN SOUTHERN ITALY
Written, narrated, produced & directed by Alessandra Belloni
Copyright (c) Alessandra Belloni 1991-2019-2021
An immersive journey into the musical & healing traditions of Southern Italy & the Black Madonnas' sacred sites in the regions of CAMPANIA, SICILY, CALABRIA, BASILICATA
Including: 8 Episodes - 3 hours of video series & lectures,
plus lyrics to the sacred chants in honor of the Black Madonna
Based on Alessandra's book Healing Journeys with the Black Madonna
published by Inner Traditions (2019), with preface by
best-selling author Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox
Happy to share the book is still a best-seller on Amazon, under Dance!
Click HERE to register and download THE VIDEO SERIES
as an online course through TEACHABLE for only $200
Also available on Teachable: Alessandra's Beginning Southern Italian Fram Drum in Honor of the Black Madonna. Normally sold separately for $150, Get both courses as a Bundle for $300 !
MORE INFORMATION ON BOTH COURSES HERE!