Online Gatherings

Join us for a springtime series of interactive online gatherings with Paolo Miceli, focused on understanding the language dynamics of pizzica + on learning pronunciation and meaning of the dialect verses.

Saturday March 7th, Saturday April 18th, Saturday May 9th 

9am Pacific / 6pm Central European

With a background in linguistics and minority languages in Italy, Paolo will guide us in understanding the language dynamics of the oral tradition in the ronda -- the circle of drummers and singers within which the pizzica pizzica comes to life.

Together we'll look at:

- The meaning and structure of specific pizzica codes, understanding linguistic patterns and the relationships of meaning that are created by singers.

- Learning the pronunciation and dialect vocab of specific pizzica verses.

• Registration is for all three meetings, in an effort to create continuity in our learning.

• Meetings will be recorded for reference and accessible between the calls, but your attendance and participation live is key to learning. That said, if you know you can't make one of the dates, please still feel free to register. If you know you can't make two of them, another gathering series might be a better fit -- stay tuned!

• There is a very small chance we may need to shift a date based on Paolo's academic schedule. If a change happens on our end and you aren't able to make the new date, you can opt to either view the recording or receive a refund (minus processing fees).

Timing & Group Size
Gatherings will run for at least 1 hour, potentially 1.5hrs depending on discussion/questions. Group size is limited to 15.

Cost
$60 for the series (sliding scale to $30-90, this is a helpful chart to assess what contribution might make sense for you)

Sold Out!

Join Sandra Taveri, author of the new bilingual text “Journey Into Tarantism." In this gathering, Sandra Taveri will share a bit about the magical/ritual/medical/therapeutic elements present in the spectrum of tarantism's manifestations across different areas of Puglia and beyond, which are collected in her book. She will also tell us a bit about the book itself and its story. And of course, there will be time for questions!

Sunday April 26th

11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 8:00pm Central European

Sandra will present in Italian. To allow this cultural exchange, the conversation will be translated into English by a bilingual community member. (This is not a professionally translated event, instead we gather across linguistic boundaries in a very human, conversational way.)

"Tarantism was a cultural phenomenon that manifested itself for more than seven centuries across many areas of the Mediterranean and, in particular, in Apulia, lasting until the early 1970s.

Since then, it has become the subject of extensive study, generating a vast body of literature that spans the worlds of music and dance as well as academic research, in all its multiple cultural and therapeutic dimensions. Within this broad field, the present volume-published in both Italian and English - addresses newcomers, tourists and the curious, as well as enthusiasts and scholars of music, dance and healing practices. It guides readers through the discovery not only of the essential rudiments of this mysterious syndrome - its etymology. symptoms, and principal areas of diffusion - but also of the main ethnographic, iconographic and archival sources.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, the book offers a fundamental key to understanding what the "taranta affliction" was and what it represented: an intimate and profound expression of a land that has fascinated visitors with its history and nature since the picturesque journeys of the eighteenth century.

Angela Sandra Taveri was born in Brindisi, Puglia, where she pursued theological studies and nurtured her passion for local history, popular religiosity and traditional practices with particular attention to tarantism, a cultural malaise from a not-so-distant past. She contributed to the cultural journal of literature and art "Mimose, carta di donna," and took part in numerous conferences on tarantism. Co-author of "Tarantelle, Saints and Healers. Forms and Figures of a Popular Cult", edited by Vincenzo Santoro and published by ItinerArti in 2024, she conceived and carried out a series of presentations and public events to share and deepen understanding of the phenomenon.

Timing & Group Size
The gathering will run for at least 1 hour, potentially 1.5hrs depending on discussion/questions. Max group size for this talk is 20.

Cost
$20 (sliding scale to $10-30, this is a helpful chart to assess what contribution might make sense for you)

Register

Join Maria Piscopo for a series of gatherings on the cultural contexts of specific regional tammurriate drumming, singing, and dancing:

Sunday May 3 - Tammurriata Agro Nocerino Sarnese

Sunday May 10 - Tammurriata Avvocata

Sunday June 14 - Tammurriata Pimontese

10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 7pm Central European

For each dance, Maria will share:

• The evolution of these dances and the various festivals that define them: how they have changed over time, and how they manifest in the present day.

• Study and detailed analysis of the ritualized somatic gestures that characterize the different styles of "ballo sul tamburo."

•  In-depth exploration of the diverse rhythmic and vocal patterns that accompany the various choreological traditions.

• Contextualization of the dance within its natural performance environment—namely, the traditional festivals of the Campania region held in honor of female saints and the Virgin Mary.

Maria will present in Italian. To allow this cultural exchange, the conversation will be translated into English by a bilingual community member. This is not a professionally translated event, but we gather across linguistic boundaries in a very human, conversational way.

Timing & Group Size
The gathering will run for at least 1 hour, potentially 1.5hrs depending on discussion/questions. Max group size is 15.

Cost
The cost for the series is $60 (sliding scale to $30-90, this is a helpful chart to assess what contribution might make sense for you). 

If you'd like to join for one or two gatherings, the cost is $25 per gathering (sliding scale $12 - $35).

Register