Tuesday 21 February 2017

Moria Chappell in Mumbai!

In the early days of the new year of 2016, the belly dance community of Mumbai was noted to experience a strange phenomenon. An opportunity to commune with a star had presented itself, and the company of Kohl Belly Dance Movement seized it.
The fiercely feminine belly dance superstar Moria Chappell walked the pseudo-winter terrains of Mumbai in January 2016, and #MoriainMumbai started trending all over social media. 

As is globally known, Moria is the Artistic Director of  The Bellydance Superstars as well as the tribal fusion group Wild Saffron, and is deservedly nicknamed the Queen of Tribal Nouveau. She travels worldwide performing and teaching the beautiful art of tribal fusion bellydance.

Kohl director Dipika Vijay hosted Moria throughout her 20 d
ay stay in the city. The larger than life belly superstar shocked Kohl Team with her open and grounded nature - low-hass, humble, and Mumbaikar-chill, Moria fitted in instantly.
The students of Kohl will never forget the two-day workshop of Tribal Fusion Immersion. The weekend of 9th-10th January exposed Kohl Movement to an array of magnificence.
Moria posted the following on Facebook: 

Arrived safely in Mumbai to a sold out workshop and waiting list grin emoticon I'm so thrilled that Tribal Fusion and Tribal Nouveau style has taken off in India over the past few years, thank you SO much Dipika Vijay and your entire team for making such a successful event...and for taking me sari shopping my first day here wink emoticon ....tomorrow begins with 5 hours of Muscular Isolation Drills, Fluid Transitions, Traveling Isolations, Spin Technique, Creative Poses and Unusual Arms Aesthetics....see you all bright and early!
The 10 hour intensive workshop left students and instructors alike floored and awed. Unique tribal fusion techniques and steps were taught and drilled, where Moria made sure she gave attention to each student. She encouraged questions and repeated patterns and movements when students were in doubt. The workshop was filled with laughter and grace, with a photo and certificate distribution ceremony in the end. 

Along with her dancer persona, the instructors of Kohl were also honoured to witness Moria's personal side. Put up in Dipika's own house, Kohl Team was able to exchange valued discussions and experiences with Moria, over cups of steaming masala chai. On the last day of the workshop, Kohl Team had a girls'-night-out with Moria that each of them will cherish for eternity. After dinner and drinks, the gang headed back to Dipika's house for a slumber-party: Moria instructed each member of the team to ask her one question on anything, and of course every one jumped at the opportunity. Moria sat royally in her headress pulling hookah, while our team came before her to ask their chosen questions. 
Moria is heralded as an innovator in costume design, stage make-up, and choreography. Her style, both feminine and fierce, commands an intensity and precision that epitomizes tribal fusion isolation and individualism. Prachi, Sanjana Sharma, and Akanksha wanted to know Moria's hair and make-up routine, and about her costuming and jewellery. Moria even demonstrated a tribal-look on our junior instructor Prachi. Sanjana, Richa, and Sneha enquired about body fitness and tightness in muscles, to which Moria responded knowledgeably - Moria is learned in the art of extreme muscle control and isolation which is fundamental to her current style. 


Moria gave the students and teachers at Kohl plenty to remember her by. Her love of fruits, chai, and khicchidi, her ordering a second thali at the Indian-cuisine restaurant Maharaja Bhog, her lying down in the back of the car endlessly telling stories, are all small details that Kohl Team will never forget.
Moria even spent quality time with Sanjana and Dipika for a personal photo-shoot, discussed art and architecture, gave make-up recommendations, and gave them insight on her creative process. 

Open to new experiences and hugely respective of the Indian tradition and culture, Moria Chappell - the colourful beauty draped in black - is a hurricane Kohl Movement will never recover from. 






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