Moirai is...

Jesse

A lifelong artist, Jesse is first and foremost a painter. She obtained her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from the State University of New York at Oswego, where her work focused on abstract forms and breaking down narratives. After she graduated in 2005, she moved on to the Sir John Cass School of Art and Design, where she was awarded a Masters of Fine Arts degree. She is currently working on a series of paintings that reflect her most recent passion; Tribal Belly Dance.

Jesse fell in love with belly dance in 2001. She first studied ATS with the Syracuse, NY based World Tribal Belly Dance Troupe, Shezam!. She has also had the pleasure to study with Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance,Megha Gavin of Devyani, Jill Parker and Rose Harden of Ultra Gypsy, Sharon Kihara and Rachel Brice of the Indigo, Wendy Marlatt of Rashani, Geneva, Elizabeth and Ayse of She'enedra and Rachel Lazarus Soto. From this dance she has not only learned the grace and poise required of the tribal dancer, but has also discovered the pure joy of dancing intimately within a troupe. Since moving to London in 2005, Jesse has been a founding member of Atalanta Tribal Fusion. Jesse has had the opportunity to play hostess to internationally respected dance troupe, Ultra Gypsy, to dance alongside Oojami and to share the stage in Madrid with Carolena and Megha.

Currently, Jesse is honored to be one-third of MOIRAI. She is looking forward to learning more from Carolena and Megha when she takes part in the General Skills Intensive and Teacher Training in October, 2008.

Laura

From Traditional Irish dance at four years old to acting, singing, performing and choreographing with the Derry based Limelight Theatre company from age 11, Lauras interest in dance and stagecraft is a lifelong passion. Her first experience of American Tribal Style Bellydance was watching a dancer perform at a weekly class in Dublin in 2002. That dancer was Wendy Marlatt formerly of FatChanceBellyDance and Second Skin. Laura trained with Wendy and went on to become one of the founding members of what was to become Rashani World Fusion.

After moving to London in 2004 Laura continued to travel and dance with the Dublin based troupe before finding her own feet (and hips!). She met Philippa through teaching an ATS workshop and became a member of Luma Tribal Belly Dance. In 2007 she went on to form MOIRAI with Philippa and Jesse.

Laura continues to study and perform ATS and is preparing to take her FCBD General Skills Certificate and Teacher Training. in 2008. In her years with Wendy and Rashani, Laura met, learned from and danced with some of the finest, including Kathleen Crowley of Saaidi, Deirdre McDonald of Gypsy Caravan, Donna Gardner and Lezlie Hogg of Pedralta, and Samantha Hasthorpe of Bellydance Superstars. Since moving to London, Laura has shared the Tribal experience with Ultra Gypsy, DOMBA!, The Uzumé, Geneva Bybee, Solace, Rachel Lazarus Soto and MOIRAI.

Philippa

In 2004 she discovered Middle Eastern dance and started training with Josephine Wise. Not long after this she emersed her life in Tribal after catching her first glimspe of it in a BellyDance SuperStars show. She studied dvds on her own, eventually forming a study group which went onto become Luma Tribal Belly Dance Troupe. Philippa has trained with Carolina Nerricco, founder and creator of FatChanceBellyDance and the ATS style. Her training continued in Helsinki; Brussels; Milan; Madrid and Glastonbury where she attained her FCBD General Skills Certificate. She is currently preparing to take her Teachers Training in 2008.

Philippa is one of the founding members of the London based ATS troupe MOIRAI. She is constantly inspired by the beauty, strength and feeling of connectedness that ATS evokes, and continues to attend workshops whenever she can. Other teachers and inspirational influences in her Tribal career are: Megha Gavin; Wendy Marlatt; Deidre MacDonald; Kajira Djoumahna; Rachel Brice; Jill Parker; Rose Harden; Lily; Hannah and MOIRAI.

The language of Dance, the language of movement,
is much deeper and older than spoken or written word.
Dance as a form of natural communication has been used, shaped
and adapted by humankind, from our first days....
to dance together is to touch the collective soul.