Alessandra Belloni is the Artistic Director, Founder, and Lead Performer of "I Giullari di Piazza", an Italian Music, Theatre, and Dance Ensemble who are Artists-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. She is also the designer of a line of signature Italian tambourines made by Remo. A tambourine virtuoso, singer, dancer, and actress, 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 Â98 in Bahia, Brazil. Alessandra was also selected as one of three runners-up (along with Babatunde Olatunji and Mickey Hart) to Arthur Hull in DRUM! magazine's "New Age/Worldbeat Percussionist" category in their 1998 awards. She recently was featured in Modern Drummer magazine and has written article for Percussive Notes. In Italy, she has recently been featured in the Women in Music Series at Teatro Argentina in Rome, Perc Fest near Genova, and Tarantella Power Festival in Calabria. She also teaches workshops on Southern Italian folk dances and drumming at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. She holds annual healing dance and percussion workshops in New York and Italy together with Dr. Jose Bittar, healing specialist from Brazil. She is the only woman in the U.S. and in Italy who specializes in traditional Southern Italian folk dances and percussion, which she learned from old fieldworkers in Italy and also from the
