Tarantella Rhythms & Steps by Alessandra Belloni

Mel Bay Publications

Conducted by

The purpose of these workshops is to introduce general audiences to a rich tambourine and folk dance culture that is still practiced in Southern Italy today and also to bring women back in touch with their lost tradition of drumming.

* The basic technique of holding the drum, with emphasis on arm movement, wrist and elbow technique, which requires strength to create the bouncing sound of the triplets.

* Hand technique with the palm and the fingertips in both a basic and accented fast 6/8 rhythm.

* Tammorriata: a 4/4 rhythm played on the large drum called the Tammorra, originally from Naples with a strong African influence in the rhythm.

* Neapolitan, Sicilian, Calabrese and Pugliese style tarantellas, which involve different variations of hand technique including finger trills on the tambourine skin.

* Rhythms of San Rocco: a healing trance 6/8 rhythm from Calabria performed in honor of San Rocco to free oneself from the fear of death by the plague during Medievel Times.

* 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.

* Tarantella alla Montemaranese: a carnival dance from Montemarano (Naples) played on the smaller tambourines with a very unusual syncopation on the 6/8. This rite of Carnival dates back to the Roman celebrations in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine.

Alessandra Belloni is a singer, percussionist, dancer and actress who stands as one of the most important voices of traditional southern Italian music and dance today. She is an artist in residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC and Artistic Director/Founder of I Giullari di Piazza (Players of the Square). Acclaimed for her mastery of musical styles at home and abroad, she has her own signature series of Italian tambourines designed with the largest percussion manufacturer in the world, REMO. Ms. Belloni was born in Rome, Italy and is committed to preserving the strong and rich traditions of her culture. She has performed extensively with master drummer Glen Velez and was invited by Nana Vasconcellos and Gilberto Gil to perform in PERC PAN '98 in Bahia, Brazil. Alessandra was also selected as one of three runners-up to Arthur Hull in DRUM! magazine's “New Age/Worldbeat Percussionist” category in their 1998 awards. She was featured in Modern Drummer magazine and has written articles for Percussive Notes.