Full Moon Tribal Belly Dance Co. was founded in the fall of 1999 by instructor and director Chelle Naef of Syracuse, New York. FMT is rooted in American Tribal Style belly dance however, we are a pure fusion style dance troupe. Over the years our style has branched from ATS to the range between American Cabaret to Modern Fusion. The dances are much like the dancers: various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, a range in ages and body types, with inspiration from ancient to contemporary. Chelle's roots are American with ancestors from all over - like her dance...she is the melting pot! It is important to know and respect our dance ancestry. There are many who dedicate themselves to preserving the purer or more authentic forms of belly dance and passing it on. There are challenges to preserving cultural integrity from dilution from religious, societal and modern day influence. Many dance purists themselves often have a melting-pot heritage or of non-Middle Eastern origin. Fortunately, this work and the work of those who come to us bringing the dances to us from their place of origin are our wealth of dance heritage. They provide us with the opportunity to know our roots...where we come from as we dance today and cultivate the next generation of dancers. Chelle is an eternal student of belly dance since late 1995 when she started with her first teacher Zoe Artemis. She has studied numerous styles including: American Tribal Style; Oriental (Raks Sharki); Folkloric Egyptian and Turkish; Tunisian; Veil, Sword, jazz, ballet and modern. She continues her training and research through classes and workshops. She teaches weekly troupe and beginner classes as well as workshops. In 1999, Chelle began teaching and produced Belly Fest - a workshop, bazaar and show. Fall of 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of Full Moon Tribal. We will celebrate our birthday with the Earth and Soul workshops in June and at the Westcott Street Festival in September. Chelle represented SABA (Syracuse Area Bellydance Association) as a two term Vice-President, President 2005 and is still active in the organization. In 2006, Chelle had the distinct honor of co-choreographing a "Danse du Ventre" a belly ballet with Danya Eades of the Syracuse School of Dance. She has taught numerous workshops from costuming, performance make up and dance: Paint for the Back Row, Bare Bones Tribal & Straight Up Fusion. |
FULL MOON TRIBAL BELLY DANCE CO. Inspire to dance. Dance to inspire. |
Updated 6/11/09
