Today, dance is most commonly used as a form of entertainment. But since the time of the ancient Greeks, many dances have integrated folklore for therapeutic use or worship.
The International Resource Center, the Italian program and the Office of International Programs present Italian dancer Alessandra Belloni, who will perform the “Tarantata Dance of the Ancient Spider” at 7 p.m. today in the IRC.
The Tarantella is a dance of “healing and purification for women (called Tarantatas) who have been bitten by the tarantula,” Belloni said. The dances use hypnotic rhythms created by the beating of tambouric drums and castanets, she said.
The ancient Greeks believed the poison from a tarantula bite would make the victim hallucinate and go insane, Belloni said. When the women claimed to have been bitten by the spider, they would fall into a frenzied, trancelike state, she said. The dance helped eradicate the spider’s poison from their bodies.
“The dance has the power to bring back balance,” Belloni said.
Later studies concluded that these women’s insanity was most likely the result of abuse, subjugation, exploitation and mental illness.
Belloni said the Tarantella originated from ancient Greek rites and myths. Women became possessed by Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, mystic ecstasy and fertility, and they danced exotic and sexual dances for him. The dances were often used in celebration of the goddesses of the Earth and the moon, she said.
Belloni said the dance is also tied to the Greek myth of Athena and Arachne.
Although the Tarantella died out in Greece, Belloni said the dance has thrived in southern Italy.
Originally from Rome, Belloni said her first experience with these dances came from her grandparents. She said when she was a little girl, she would listen to her grandfather play the tambourine, mandolin and drums.
Julie Guzzardo, a University undergraduate, will be performing some of the dances with Belloni.
The Tarantella “is about rebirth and renewal — it’s innately feminine,” she said.
Guzzardo said she had never seen these folklore dances until she stumbled upon a group of dancers performing the Tarantella in the Piazza del Popollo in Rome. She was working as a belly dancer at the time, and the Middle Eastern influences of the traditional dance prompted her to take a few classes to learn the Tarantella.
“Middle Eastern dance is really connected with the Earth,” she said. And she said she was interested in learning how rhythm and ritual could be used for healing purposes.
Being half Sicilian, she said the dances also spoke to her family roots.
In the summer of 2001, Guzzardo participated in a workshop Belloni taught. She said she was so impressed by the dancer that she decided to find a way to bring her to the University.
“What sets (Belloni) apart from other dancers is that every fiber of her being is involved” in the dance, Guzzardo said.
Anne Williams, coordinator for the IRC, said she found the music to have both a softness and a fieriness to it.
“One of the things that interested me most is this is a folkloric type of music we don’t often get exposed to,” she said.
Williams said dancers are performing these types of dances less, and “it is important not to let this kind of music die out.”
Tickets for the performance are $5 for students and $10 for the general public. Tickets are available at the EMU Ticket Office.