Moria Chappell Artistry

©  2013  Moria  Chappell  LLC  

All  rights  reserved.  

To  dance,  put  your  hand  on  your  heart  and  

listen  to  the  sound  of  your  soul.  

Eugene  Louis  Faccuito  

Moria Chappell

Artistry

Over the course of her career, Moria Chappell has excelled in a number of unique, artistic endeavors. These are five areas in which her artistry has found its way onto the stage.

Artistic Direction

Moria serves as the

Artistic Director for

Bellydance Superstars

Tribal Fusion and has

since 2011.

She composes and

orchestrates group

choreographies which

seek to evoke what is

strange and beautiful,

striking and consoling

about the female form

in its most erudite and

vulnerable

manifestations.

Bellydance Superstars Tribal Fusion

Artistic Director

Moria’s

Artist Reel

Artistic Direction & Choreography

Moria

Choreographry

Moria has

choreographed solos,

duets, and group

collaborations that

incorporate both

Oriental and Tribal

Fusion artistry to

produce a tableaux of

juxtapositions of light

and dark, soft and

strong, fiery and

temperate to pull

each dancer to her

edge and offer what

she embodies most on

the stage.

CLUB BELLYDANCE 2013

Opening tribal ensemble

“Peacock” duet

“Balkan” group ensemble

“Jaguar” solo

“Oceana” tribal ensemble

Finalé tribal ensemble

THE MAGIC OF DANCE (2012)

Opening tribal ensemble

“Balkan” group ensemble

“Cobra” tribal ensemble

“Finger Cymbal” duet

“Jaguar” solo

Finalé tribal ensemble

MMoorriiaa’’ss CChhoorreeooggrraapphhiieess

BABELESQUE (2007)

“Madura” solo

BELLYDANCE SUPERSTARS DVDs

“Tabla Solo” with Issam Houshan

“Muslim Gauze”

“Victim to the Charms of Radio” solo

“Revolution” solo

“Ampersand Storm” solo

“Engrish Bwudd” solo

“Steeping Somber” solo

“Karakas” solo

ADDITIONAL CHOREOGRAPHIES

“Black Widow”

“Lullaby for August 2nd”

“Tribal Fest 2013”

Teaching Methodology and Ethos

Moria teaches from a

place of spirit and

body.

She feels that what is

most important is to

understand and utilize

the muscles that cloak

the bones, and

ultimately are the only

things that put us under

our own control. Her

technique is entirely

muscle-based,

dedicating one muscle

to one movement, and

creating isolations and

shapes that are clear

and concise.

Once the

fundamental tools of

the body are brought

under a student’s

control by a yoga,

and drilled by a

muscular isolation

which understands

the commands of

contract and release,

Moria is able to lead

her students to more

complex layering

and shape creation,

and thereby turns

their body into a

vessel for their voice,

and the voice of the

world, to be expressed

effortlessly and with intention.

Moria uses sweat and humor to

mold the body and tame the

muscles to work under the

command of her students.

Costume Design

Costuming is the outer

expression of the inner

vision.

Moria has a fascination

with the specific and

the large. She is

invested in the detail of

each bead, its content

and history, as well as

the outline of the total

form which can be

read from stage. Her

costumes are animal

and statue, antique

and fantastic.

She makes each of her

own costumes via

hand stitching, and

draws inspiration from

colors in nature,

haute couture,

Alphonse Mucha,

Gustav Klimt, Gaudi,

pirates, gypsies,

yoginis, dakinis,

mermaids, and

peacocks.

Using shells, stones,

feathers, silk, silver,

lace, tassels, beads,

glass, mirrors, yarn,

flowers, bones, gold,

teardrops, pinpricks,

twilight and sunrise,

Moria weaves her

costumes like an

arachnid into embellishments

and regalia with whom she

dances like a partner.

Make-up Design

The face is the canvas

of the soul. The secret

of the mermaid’s mirror

is that it reflects

anything she wishes to

see.

Moria formally studied

make-up artistry during

her tutelage in make-

up design school in

Atlanta, Georgia in

2004. She has worked

as a make-up artist on

sets and applies the

more theatrical aspects

of make-upology to her

face as well as others.

Moria delights in

seeing her faces

transformed by

contours and

highlights, smoking

and blurring, glittering

and coloring,

blending, and by

using unexpected

colors to evoke the

Geisha, the ingénue,

Kali, Renaissance

portraiture, the feline,

and the stars of silent

film.

With faces as her

canvas, Moria

patiently and deftly shows her

students the mysteries of

effective theatrical makeup.

Future Explorations

Since 2008, Moria has

been traveling to India

to study East Indian

Temple Dance.

Her fascination with

temple dance has led

her to Hula, Tahitian,

Javanese, and

Balinese sacred

dances. She has

experimented with Thai

and South China

Peacock Dance.

Her future pursuits

include a continued in-

depth study of Odissi,

the grandmother of

all sacred dance, with

her teacher Ratna

Roy; to explore the

dances of Oceana;

to walk the paths of

Angkor Watt via

Cambodian dance,

and explore Thai and

Nepalese dance to

retrace the lineage of

sacred dance as it

traveled from India

throughout Asia and

then to the sea.

“Her style has developed into

something that defies description.

Let’s just say that if Rachel Brice is

the snake-charmer, Moria’s become

THE snake. Her movements are fast,

accurate, precise and her locks

seem to freeze in time…just like a

snake before attacking the next

move. Simply mesmerizing!”

~Excerpt from a review of

The Bellydance Superstars

written by MIGUEL

Recent Choreographies

Club Bellydance 2013

Opening of Show

Tribal-Fusion Artistic Direction & Choreography

Moria

“Peacock”

Club Bellydance 2013

Duet

Artistic Direction & Choreography

Moria

“Balkan”

Club Bellydance 2013

Ensemble

Artistic Direction & Choreography

Moria

“Cobra”

Club Bellydance 2013

Tribal Ensemble

Artistic Direction & Choreography

Moria

“Jaguar”

Club Bellydance 2013

Solo

Artistic Direction & Choreography

Moria

“Bounce”

Club Bellydance 2013

Tribal Ensemble

Artistic Direction & Choreography

Moria

Finis

For inquiries, please contact Moria Chappell

at the following address:

moriachappell@yahoo.com