 Shelley
Muzzy/Yasmela
Yasmela began
dancing in 1972 as a student of Jamila
Salimpour in San Francisco. In the fall of 1973 she left
the Bay Area to live in Bellingham, Washington. In Bellingham, Yasmela
joined forces with fellow Jamila dancer Cecelia Comartin (Cassima)
in 1974 and founded the Bou-Saada Dance Troupe. While
working with Bou-Saada, Yasmela continued to travel to California to
study with Rhea, another early Bal-Anat
troupe dancer, and Aisha Ali, respected dance ethnographer.
At the same time she began an intensive study of the culture of the
Middle East and North Africa and returned to college to earn her B.A.
in History and Research with emphasis on the dance and music of these
areas.
With the Bou-Saada Dance Troupe,
Yasmela developed her skills in teaching, choreography and instrumentation.
Bou-Saada was a collective effort and all members of the group took
an active interest in all aspects of performing, which included developing
the technical skills needed to produce a professional show. Special
emphasis was placed on continuity and flow as well as choreography and
set design. Bou-Saada performances were famous for their energy, diversity
and innovation. The troupe explored areas of dance and music that expanded
the perimeters for "belly dance" groups at that time, developing
a format that enabled them to work in a broad variety of venues. The
term "pushing the envelope" would be appropriate to describe
Bou-Saada. Taking Bal-Anat as a model and using the folkloric traditions
of groups from Iran, Egypt, Central Asia and even Tibet, the troupe
moved in directions that were previously unexplored. The expert instruction
of teachers such as Aisha Ali, Mardi Rollow (AMAN Folk Ensemble),
Nakish, Rhea and Jamila all served to mold
Yasmela's unique style. Yasmela teaches the technique she learned from
Jamila Salimpour combined with a body of steps that defines Bou-Saada
Style. Her understanding of the differences in styles of belly dance
from various areas of the Middle East (Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Greece)
enables her to help students find their own dancing voice.
With a very clear understanding
of the difference between folkloric dance and belly dance, Yasmela teaches
students the origins and basics of tribal style and modern cabaret.
She stresses the importance of maintaining the integrity of ethnic dances
and guides students in the subtleties of adding folkloric flavor to
dance routines. Her folkloric expertise includes Egyptian, Tunisian
and Moroccan as well as a comprehensive understanding of Central Asian
style. She teaches with an earthy humor and ease and her classes are
peppered with anecdotes and historical footnotes. Particular emphasis
is placed on the dancer as actor and communicator of the feeling of
the music by immersion in the myth of movement.
Shelley/Yasmela currently appears in a weekly gardening show for cable
television with her husband and Bou-Saada co-director Muzzy. She choreographs
for local theatrical productions and assists her daughter in the administration
of Pacific DanceWorks Studio, which her daughter owns.
She has been involved in collecting and selling antique costumes and
textiles since the early '70's, and serves as a consultant to collectors
and dealers. To this end she frequently travels to Asia. Yasmela is
a freelance writer and served as a staff writer for Habibi Magazine
through the late '70's and early '80's. She is currently finishing her
second book, a history of the Bou-Saada Dance Troupe.
Articles by Yasmela
on Gilded Serpent
6-13-07 Le
Serpent Rouge Reviewed by Yasmela
The blending of theater and dance was really outstanding with
broad comedy moving seamlessly into dance.
5-8-07
The Bou-Saada Bus by Yasmela
Every single
one of us could play an instrument, sing, dance, run a sound board,
set a stage with backdrop, lights, monitors and microphones, plug them
in, and put them away. We made our own costumes and our own drums and
used duct tape in a thousand creative ways. While we never made a living
from it, it was our way of life. Our experiences will bond us forever.
6-25-04 Romancing
the Road (The Bousada Troupe Tours) by Yasmela
We
carved our own niche, created our own style, scandalized, delighted,
educated and entertained everyone around us, including ourselves. We
were “Bou-Saada”.
5-28-04 Dance
Contests by Yasmela
People
being who they are, and dance and art and America being what they are,
there will always be the competitive urge, the attitude that success
is defined by the amount of your income, the number of your trophies. 2-27-04
Review of
Americanistan CD “Mosaic” by Yasmela
This
CD will certainly be a welcome addition to a Tribal dancer’s
music library.
2-5-04
Marquerite's Video,
"Spins & Turns," Video review by Yasmela
Her
spotting technique was intriguing and involved a finger-snapping exercise.
12-5-03
Jillina’s
DVD or All Jillina, All the Time Video reviewed by Yasmela/ Shelley
Muzzy
In fact, the production quality is exemplary.
9-12-03
Classic Cabaret
Floor Work with Anaheed Video reviewed by Yasmela/ Shelley Muzzy
Good lighting, good sound, clear instructions and good camera
work seem to be the hallmarks of IAMED videos.
5-21-03
Tribal Bible Reviewed
by Shelley Muzzy/Yasmela
And I suppose to some dancers, it is a way of life. There is repeated
emphasis placed on the concepts of bonding, healing, empowering, and
connecting throughout the book. From the sound of it, American women
are desperate to connect, to be part of a tribe, to belong.
10-13-03
The Middle Eastern Music
and Dance Camp in Mendocino by Yasmela
There
is nothing like immersing yourself in study and in the strange and unique
culture of the Middle Eastern music and dance “scene”.
5-8-03 Reconnecting
with the Dance: a Performance Critique of Aziza by Shelley Muzzy/Yasmela
There are several dancers on the scene that I admire and enjoy watching
again and again, but I just saw one that made me stop in my tracks,
sit right down on the floor, and pay attention.
The
Emperor’s New Clothes by Yasmela/ Shelley Muzzy
Until we see ourselves in the context of a larger society, no one outside
of our community will accord us the respect we desire.
2-8-03
Glass-Dancing
Revisited by Yasmela/ Shelley Muzzy
Our response to the
improvisational passages in Middle Eastern music illustrate the
depth of our understanding of the rich texture and nuance of the culture
10-17-02
Music and Style by
Yasmela / Shelley Muzzy
ATS seems to be pushing Middle Eastern dance, at least in the U.S.,
back into that safe and sexless area, sans the real knowledge of true
folk movement
8-2-01 Fire
and Ice by Yasmela/ Shelley
What makes some of our dance good, what makes some of it bad is puzzling
to me...
12-27-00 Peter
Fels, Master Cymbal Maker by Shelley
Muzzy/Yasmela
Peter
made the most exquisite finger cymbals. Each one was a work of art.
7-28-00 The Persian Soul of the Music of Sima Bina
by Yasmela
So there she was,
a beautiful Iranian woman with an all-woman band!
2-18-00
Joy of Teaching
by Yasmela
Dancers need to go beyond the
"tricks of the trade" and connect with the audience, whether
they are in a club, at a faire, in a concert, or with fellow dancers.
I have learned the value of simplicity.
10-23-01
The New Bal Anat, A Personal
View, June 30, 2001 by Shelley/Yasmela
The premiere
of the New Bal Anat reviewed by a former student of the old Bal Anat's
originator.
10-15-01 CD
review -Fil Waha by Helm, reviewed by Yasmela
From raucous funky tribal tunes to lovely complex rhythms from southern
Persia, ...
For more information
and articles by Yasmela
come to her site at www.bou-saada.com
|
