• • RHYTHM OF SAN ROCCO- traditional healing dance trance from Calabria believed to heal people from the plague during the Middle Ages. with AVE MARIA DI MONTSERRAT (Cuncti Simus Concamentes) -
• A medieval prayer, sung in Latin, from the Libre Vermell di Montserrat, found in the collection of Monasterio de Santa Maria. Believed to date from the eleventh century, it is sung to honor the Black Madonna of Montserrat - a powerful statue located on an ancient sacred mountain near Barcelona, Spain. In medieval times, she inspired numerous chants, songs (cantigas de Santa Maria), & ecstatic dances, which the pilgrims performed in the Church for centuries.
Presented by DAUGHTERS OF CYBELE at Theatre for the New City October 2014 In observation of Domestic Violence Awareness Month written and directed by Alessandra Belloni with her all-women's ensemble, "Voices of the Tarantate," included real stories of women's abuse and their healing and empowerment , woven into powerful sacred chants, drumming and healing trance dances in Honor of the Black Madonna. "Voices of the Tarantate" presents Belloni as a powerful shaman, surrounded by women traditionally dressed in white with red lace scarves, singing, drumming, and dancing the wild and transformative tarantella to bring about healing. They also share some of the stories of women who gather in Tuscany every August, under the direction of Belloni, to be healed and empowered.