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Moria Chappell's Background Information
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© 2013 Moria Chappell LLC All rights reserved.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon.
Edward Lear
The Owl and the Pussycat
Moria Chappell
Background
World renowned belly dancer, Moria Chappell, graces stages around the globe bringing the exquisite art of Tribal Fusion Bellydance to its utmost in elegance, darkness, and intensity of expression.
Tribal Fusion is an
eclectic expression of
the moves and
emotions born from
the country and heart
of the Middle East,
and beyond. With an
underpinning of the
old, and the
authentic, and by
using the antique
jewelry, textiles, and
musical instruments
connoting the
essence of these
ancient cultures, an
American ear for
industrial rebellion is
then juxtaposed and
layered atop, thereby
weaving the
cotemporary myth,
styles, and beliefs of a
modern era.
Moria creates a whimsical mixture of
enchanting darkness by embodying the
mythos of a modern industry and a forgotten
ancestry. Her work is detailed and enigmatic,
heralding from a childhood of Bohemian
upbringing where value was placed on beauty
and the truth of artistic expression.
Ms. Chappell serves as the Artistic Director for
the Tribal Fusion component of The Bellydance
Superstars. Her responsibilities include the tribal
choreographies as well as various group
pieces inclusive of the entire cast.
I become the stars and the moon. I become the
lover and the beloved. I become the victor and the
vanquished. I become the master and the slave. I
become the singer and the song. I become the
knower and the known. I keep on dancing then it is
the eternal dance of creation. The creator and
creation merge into one wholeness of joy. I keep on
dancing...and dancing...and dancing. Until there is
only...the dance.
Michael Jackson
Interview
FUSE Magazine
The following is an interview with Moria by FUSE Magazine, the prestigious tribal fusion bellydance journal. The interview focused on Moria’s background.
2012
University
Aloha Moria, Thank you so much!
I graduated magna
cum laude with a
degree in English from
The University of
California, but that is
actually a very limiting
description of what I
studied.
I went through four
majors and an infinite
array of minors before
I finally graduated
with enough credits to
fill two degrees and a
minor, but only
enough in one
specific area to piece
together a degree.
I studied as many
different topics as
what interested me:
French, African Art,
European
Architecture,
Anthropology,
Archaeology, Marine
Science, Dance,
Theatre, Ancient
Greek Philosophy and
Mythology, Feminism,
Journalism, etc.
I also headed the
Humanities Outreach
Program for students
FUSE: When you were in university, what
were you getting your degree in?
volunteering to teach in underprivileged high schools in
Anaheim, CA and was captain of the sailing team and
headed Earth Day Festivals for CALpirg, and and and….
I had my fingers in everything and was really searching
for that one thing that could answer my questions. It
sounds unusual, but bellydance answered a lot for me.
So, after I graduated with a BA in English, I pursued
bellydance as a career and a life path.
- PPrreessss RReelleeaassee -
UC Irvine: 36th Commencement Saturday, June 16, 2001 Attendance Estimated at 40,000
The featured speaker for the School of Humanities will be
MMoorriiaa CChhaappppeell ll , who will receive a bachelor's degree in
English. Admitted to the Humanities Honors Program in her
junior year at UCI, she will graduate Phi Beta Kappa and
magna cum laude.
First Bellydance Experience
FUSE: Where did you
first see a belly dancer
and do you know now
who she was or style
she was performing?
My mother bellydanced when I was very
young.
One of my earliest memories is of throwing her
finger cymbals out the window of our upstairs
apartment because I liked the way the ching
sounded when they hit the sidewalk below.
But she never performed professionally, she just
invited her friends over and they danced
together in the living room. I loved it. But she
didn’t continue and I didn’t see another
bellydancer until 2000 when I was at a festival
called Pennsic with my father.
We would go each summer as a camping and
bonding trip. It was at night around a fire with
live drummers and a few dancers around the
fire moving to the rhythms under the stars.
I was transfixed by a young dancer named Katrina. She
had eyes like a cat and long black hair to her waste
and moved her hips like nothing I’d ever seen and I
wanted to do that! She had such effortless playfulness
and sensuality in her movements. It was a turning point
for me. I wanted my life to go where that kind of thing
happens. All the books and politics and philosophies I’d
been buried in were only useful in so much as they
supported an idea of this living beautiful movement.
Ziah Ali & Awalim
FUSE: Your first belly
dance teacher was
Ziah Ali of Awalim in
2001, correct? How
did you discover her
and what was the
most essential thing
she taught you?
I moved back to
Atlanta, GA after I
graduated UCI. My
mother was living
there and like most
students fresh out of
college I had no idea
where to go, so I went
home.
I got an apartment
downtown and
started taking classes
from Ziah first because
I wanted to learn
finger cymbals and
she was offering a six-
week course on that.
She was also
connected with
Pennsic and so there
was a certain level of
recognition and
connection there. She
teaches Tribal Fusion
and so I learned quite
a bit about that
particular style, but her
teacher had been a
wonderful Oriental
style bellydancer
named Gayle from
Texas.
So I learned the full
spectrum: Tunisian,
Egyptian, Turkish,
Moroccan, Algerian,
Indian, Flamenco,
Romany and Persian
Fusion. The reason she
called it Fusion is
because she picked
and chose the
combinations she
liked, but then mixed
them with other styles
that she liked to
compose a piece.
None of her pieces
were 100% anything
but each combination
was studied and
executed with
accuracy and
integrity.
So many times today Fusion is used as an excuse or
a word to allow any way of moving to be classified
as bellydance. This trend leads to bellydance
confusion. What I admired about Ziah was that
each of her moves was an actual bellydance move,
but the regions from which they came were where
she would mix and match to create the fusion.
By doing this, her worked evoked a sense of ancient
and authentic. She knew the lineage of almost
every combination she used. I respect that because
it keeps bellydance as the focus of the art and
breaks down the taboo in the Middle East of mixing
dances from the various regions there.
Make-up Artist
FUSE: Before you
became a
professional dancer,
you were a make-up
artist? Can you tell
me a little bit about
that?
Actually I was a
professional dancer
before I was a make-
up artist.
While performing with
Ziah and Awalim I also
performed
independently around
Atlanta and the South
East, and was making
my living solely by
teaching and
performing
bellydance.
There was a beautiful
school downtown
called the Make-Up
Directory with a
teacher who taught
high fashion make-up
and hair. I would go
to classes during the
day and dance at
night. I really just did
this because it
interested me.
I worked on a couple
of sets, but then The
Bellydance Superstars
picked me up and I
am lucky enough to
be able to apply all
that I learned to our
stage shows.
I had no idea at the
time, but it was really
a smart move
because I’ve
developed almost all
of my face, hair,
headdresses, and
costuming based on
concepts I learned
through high fashion
and runway school.
Bohemian Upbringing
FUSE: Tell me about
your “bohemian
upbringing.”
Both my parents are from Beaufort,
SC, a small town on the coast
peopled with ancient oak trees and
plantations on the bluff.
View of the bay from my Grandmother’s porch.
They rebelled from their
small southern life and
went to Woodstock,
traveled through
Mexico, got their
degrees from New
College and were both
theatre actors and did
summer stock.
My uncle was an actor
on WKRP in Cincinnati,
and continues to tour
well into his 70s as a
one-man Mark Twain
theatre act.
My parents were bohemian in that they
wanted to opt for another way of living,
another way of approaching life that brought
nature and spirituality and depth psychology
and creativity to the fore. They bought land in
the forest in the Appalachian Mountains and
built a house in the shape of a castle.
We had fires in the back yard every night and I grew up in
costumes, dancing in the woods to the fireflies and crickets,
under the stars, and with my family around.
As a child you think everything going on around you is natural
and normal and so for me it was. It wasn’t until I went out into
the big world that I realized how truly rare my upbringing was.
I was designing costumes for my dolls and myself since I was born. I
would go out into the woods and make dresses for my best friend and I
from tree leaves. We’d parade out of the woods so proud and of course
everyone laughed and I’d run in embarrassment back to my room where
I’d think for a bit and then re-emerge in fairy wings and a moon and star
circle skirt with my kitten on a satin pillow that my parents had stuffed
with fur from Lancelot (a small, long-haired goat that Barnum and Baileys
Circus surgically twisted its horns together to make it into a unicorn).
So, yeah, my upbringing was unique to say the least.
“Dramatic Gopher”
Oh, that was my sister.
We sometimes make
fun of artists or
alternative people
who take themselves
too seriously. We both
grew up with a lot of
unique characters
and it’s really hard to
shock either of us, but
people sometimes are
very proud of
something they’ve
done that seems
outrageous, like
baptizing themselves
naked in the full
moonlight for their
birthday in a river and
then dressing up like
Green Man to howl at
the moon. That might
seem unusual for most
folks, but it’s kinda
normal for where we
came from.
But now people are
rediscovering the uses
of plants and herbs
and they sometimes
can become very
cocky and self-
absorbed in their own
idea of themselves as
a shaman or a healer
or a mystic. Not to say
anything disparaging
about the craft of
herbology or the
pursuit of esoteric
knowledge, but the
ego behind such
knowledge is what
makes us laugh.
So one day I showed
her Dramatic Gopher
on YouTube and we
began mimicking it
every time an actor,
artist, therapist,
dancer, or well really
FUSE: What is the
story behind the
“dramatic
gopher”?
anyone would try to brag about them selves with that
snooty air. It became a common practice and so she
filmed us doing it.
I don’t know, I guess it keeps things in perspective for us.
Nothing is new under the sun and there’s really no reason
to become arrogant about anything. Just do what you
love because you love it, no need for attitude, unless
you’re a gopher. :)
My “dramatic look.” My sister’s “dramatic look.”
Suhaila & Jamilla Salimpour
I had auditioned for The
Bellydance Superstars
and made it.
Well, that terrified me
and I thought I needed
to ramp up my
knowledge of the craft
a lot more if I was to
get up on stage and
be associated with
such a strong group.
I went home, sold
everything I owned
and moved to San
Francisco to study with
Suhaila and Jamilla
Salimpour. I was in
Suhaila’s dance studio
for 3-9 hours every
single day for 6
months. Suhaila is a
potent coach and will
yell you right up onto
your feet when you
feel like you can’t go
on and I needed that
at the time. I needed
a boot camp. I
pushed myself and her
and her group of
teachers pushed me
to sweaty tears almost
every day.
It broke me and built
me up and broke me
FUSE: Why did you
decide to move to
San Francisco in
2005?
and was one of the more intense experiences of my dance
career. I learned so very much and her approach to the
body through bellydance transformed my understanding
and teaching methodology.
She allowed me to perform with Bal Anat, which was an
incredible experience for me, and taught me how to
approach choreography and the stage life. It was really the
beginning of a whole new chapter of my dance career.
Miles Copeland & The Bellydance Superstars
I auditioned for The Bellydance
Superstars in January of 2005
and did my first performance
with them in July 2005, and
have been with them since.
What got me from winning the
audition to actually being a
regular member of The
Bellydance Superstars was my
training with Suhaila before I
joined the tour, and then my
subsequent training with Rachel
Brice, Mardi Love, and Sharon
Kihara after I joined.
The Tribal Ladies really took me
in under their wing and
transformed me in ways I
would’ve never predicted. I’m
very lucky that these women
were my mothers.
FUSE: Within that same year,
you joined the Belly Dance
Super Stars—how did that
come about?
Miles Copeland, the producer of The Bellydance Superstars, took a
chance on me and has believed in me ever since, so really I owe
all of my experience traveling the world, reaching out to so many
women, and honing this craft to his investment and his commitment
to bellydance. He’s a crazy artist just like the rest of us, and thank
god he’s crazy enough to love bellydance as much as we do. :)
Odissi Dance
FUSE: I saw photos of you in India
studying Odissi Dance—can you share
about that experience: your inspiration
to go, the school you chose, how long
you were there, specifics about the
training or area?
Odissi is a mulit-
thousand year old
dance that has been
handed from guru to
disciple since it’s
inception.
Hindu mythology says
that Shiva and Parvati
taught the original
dancers, but
archaeology shows that
this dance existed
before the Aryans who
brought Shiva worship
to India. I think it’s so
ancient that it’s origins
have been long
forgotten, but it is OLD
and from what I have
researched is the oldest
dance form that has been
passed on unbroken on
the planet. It is the
grandmother of all dance
and for that reason alone
it is worth studying.
Beyond that there is a sacred geometry to the
stance and combinations that are architecturally
sound in that each shape has its own intrinsic
stability in structure. This fascinates me.
Another amazing connection is
that Odissi comes from Odisha, a
region in East India that is where
Tantrism, the Chakra system, Krisha
and Radha, the Geeta Govinda
and Jugganaught come from.
There are so many secrets of
female knowledge held within this
dance that you can feel when
you practice it. The stomping
wakes something up inside of you
and reminds you of something
long lost but never fully forgotten.
It’s something that is difficult to
explain because it is an
experiencial knowledge.
Beyond that Odissi traveled north
from Odisha to Bangladesh then
over to Thailand and Laos, down
through Indonesia and out into the
Islands ultimately ending up in
Hawaii. Ancient Hula sings the same
songs as Odissi. It is a temple dance
that tells the stories of the gods and
if you look at ancient Odissi
ornamentation and compare it to
ancient Hula costuming, it is strikingly
similar. The islanders just used nature
to weave the headdresses, bark to
weave the sari like skirts, dog teeth to
create ankle bells and leaves to
create jewelry. It’s incredible.
And if that weren’t enough, there
is also a link between Odissi and
ancient martial arts that connects
the Amazons of Socrates lore to
Mongolia and Asia, traveling
eventually to land in India finding
home and protection in the
temples and the knowledge was
held safely by the temple
“dancers” who were in fact the
keepers of the martial knowledge
and practiced and kept alive via
the jewelry that was stylized armor
and dance that was stylized
martial arts. That goes on to
connect to things like Qui Gong
and archery. I could go on and
on…but I LOVE it all.
India is a powerful teacher and
my experiences there ranged
from some of the most joyful
breakthroughs of my life and also
some of the most horrible
experiences of my life. But it has
led me to find my teacher here in
Olympia, WA and she is wonderful
both as a scholar and a dancer.
We are working together now to
create an ashram/dance
school/library here in Olympia so
that students can come and look
at videos of the last temple
dancers describing their
experience in the temples,
pictures of statues inside the
temples that foreigners cannot go
in to see, unedited stories that you
don’t hear in India. It’s a labor of
love and devotion and I’m so
excited about it all.
Runway & Photo Model
FUSE: You were also a
runway and photo
model? When did you
start doing this type of
work and what sort of
clothing/products did
you model? Do you still
do this type of work?
I started modeling when
I was 12. Then I didn’t
grow any taller. ;) So
that pretty much ended
that. But I went to a
modeling school and
did some runway work
at a young age and it
taught me a lot. It was
a two-year program
that taught me about
make-up, photo shoots,
runway technique and
footwork, hair design,
haute couture and
business.
So it was wonderful, but
ultimately I was always
more interested in
performance and
archetypal work in
theatre.
But it certainly added to
my future career in
dance.
Costuming
Thank you! :) I LOVE
costuming.
I learned so much from
Mardi Love. She really is
the impetus behind the
whole esthetic of Tribal
Bellydance Fusion that
BDS brought to the
global stage. Just
watching her pick out
things at an antique store
was a lesson in seeing
beauty in a new way.
FUSE: Your aesthetic is absolutely delicious—
when you are costuming is there any certain
goal you are hoping achieve for your look? Can
you list any creative inspirations that fuel your
designs (art movement/movie/place/time)?
Alphonse Mucha and
really the whole Art
Nouveau approach to
jewelry, women,
furniture, buildings
drives a lot of my
vision.
I loved “Elf Quest”
when I was little, so
that comic book
must’ve had an
influence.
The hairstyles and jewelry from the statues of
the 64 Yogini Temple of Haripur in Odisha,
India continues to inspire me.
Orientalist paintings from the Middle East
and Africa are another influence as well as
haute couture and Cirque du Soleil.
I don’t usually have a specific THING in mind when I begin a
costume. Typically I drape together fabric according to a
certain color palette that I might have seen in a painting, out in
nature, or on a runway. Then I drape tassels or beads or chains
that I think furthers the color scheme. Often flowers, feathers,
and yarn find their way in there.
I don’t know where it’s going most of the time but I always
know when the last stitch happens: there’s a point at which I
stand back and say, that’s it, it’s perfect. Until that point I can
take apart costumes over and over again but once I feel it’s
happy, I never take another thing off of it.
They exist on and on as if they are my children and when a new
project comes up I start all over with different material. I’ve
amassed quite a collection and they all live together in a giant
trunk that barely closes.
Costuming takes so so very long to create. Sewing is a slow
process but it’s therapeutic and for me to wear what I have
spent so much time with I feel like I am dancing with a partner
on stage. I don’t feel like I’m dressing up, I feel like I’m reuniting
with an old friend.
What were you going to be when you grew up?
I think I told them I
was going to be a
mermaid.
I costumed as a child.
I changed clothes five
times a day. My
parents’ friends gave
them three trash bags
full of old ballet
costumes that their
children had grown
out of and I wore
those everyday. I
would only wear ballet
slippers even to school
and out in the woods
though most of the
time I was barefoot.
My mother and father
made me costumes,
my father taught me
how to use a sewing
machine and how to
make a circle skirt.
I directed my mother
on how to draw an
outfit that I wanted to
make and then she’d
help me put my hair
just so. Then I’d run
out with my friends
and come home
covered in dirt and
mud. They just hosed
me off and I’d go
change costumes.
My mother had me in
ballet, tap, jazz,
gymnastics, clogging,
swim team, and
basketball everyday
after school. So things
haven’t really
changed that much
for me since I was
little. :)
FUSE: As a little girl, what
had you told your parents
you were going to be
when you grew up? What
were your favorite past
times as a child?
Soul Place
India is unique unto
this planet.
It’s sad to say, but
most of the world is
becoming like
America: streets and
freeways are laid out
the same, same fast
food restaurants,
same malls and
brands, same cars,
similar jobs and
economy and
religions.
FUSE: You have been all over the world performing
and teaching, is there a certain place in particular
that really touched your soul? Why?
India is one place I’ve
been that is truly
different. There are
parts of India that I
believe have not
changed since the
1500s and there are
sages that look like
they have not
changed since the
last ice age.
And you feel God there. I know that sounds cliché, but
there is a presence in India that is bigger than you, and
you are keenly aware of it no matter where you are.
It’s life changing or maybe I should say perspective
changing.
New Places
FUSE: Is there any
place you have not
been that you are
still hoping to some
day visit? Why?
Zanzibar, Bali, and
Angkor Wat, Vietnam
and Indonesia.
Each has a link to
ancient dance that I
want to study.
Zanzibar
Bali
Vietnam
Indonesia
Home
Olympia, Washington
but I still travel more
than half the year.
So really “home” is
wherever my suitcase is.
FUSE: Where is "home"
for you currently?
Visitors investigating my sister’s backyard in Olympia.
Classes & Projects
I will be teaching with
Tamalyn Dallal at her
Zanzibar retreat July of
2013.
I will also be teaching
extensively in Hong
Kong and Taipei this
spring and also
traveling to and
teaching in Venezuela
and Mexico.
I think I teach in
Switzerland in
December of 2012,
Germany in May,
some other places
that will be listed on
FUSE: Do you teach any regular classes or
have any upcoming projects you would
like to share about with Fuse readers?
bellydancesuperstars.
com and
moriachappell.com.
What I am most
excited about these
days is opening my
Odissi teacher’s
ashram up to
weeklong retreats in
August of 2013. Her
name is Ratna Roy.
Favorite Aspect of Life
All 3 and at the same
time: each informs the
other, fuels the other,
and couldn’t exist
without the other.
FUSE: What is your
favorite aspect of
your life (teaching,
performing, traveling,
etc.)? Why is this so
important to you?
Dream Show
Isadora Duncan, Mata
Hari, Martha Graham,
Cleopatra, Scheherazade,
Salome, Ganesha, all of
the Apsaras, Aphrodite,
Xena, Jessica Rabbit,
Durga, and the Sugar
Plum Fairy.
They would all dance
under the open sky in the
center of Angkor Wat in
Cambodia.
FUSE: If you could go
to your dream
show—where would
it be and who (dead
or alive) would be
performing in the line
up?
Dream Show: Isadora Duncan
Dream Show: Mata Hari
Dream Show: Martha Graham
Dream Show: Cleopatra
Reconstruction of
Cleopatra’s face based on
her authentic bust housed
in the Altes Museum, Berlin
(page to the left).
Dream Show: Scheherazade
Dream Show: Salome
Dream Show: Ganesha
Dream Show: Apsaras
Dream Show: Aphrodite
Dream Show: Xena
Dream Show: Jessica Rabbit
Dream Show: Durga
Dream Show: Sugar Plum Fairy
Dream Venue: Angkor Wat
FINIS
I woke up on my roof with my brothers
There's a whale in the pool with my mother
And my dad paints the house different colors
Where would we be, if we couldn't dream?
Jonas Brothers
Be who you are and say what you feel
because those who mind don’t matter
and those who matter don’t mind.
Dr. Seuss