moria chappell background

©  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