A passion for samba

South Sound woman puts her heart into dance group

By Molly Gilmore | For The Olympian • Published April 26, 2007

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Juli Kelen vividly remembers the first time she saw the dancers of Samba Olywa. It was in 1997, the first year the dancers appeared in the Procession of the Species.

" It was a really crummy night," she said. "It was drizzling. It was dark. I was catching a cold. I was standing there with a sore throat.

"All of a sudden, I heard this electrifying per cussion, and around the corner came these women."

She lights up again at the memory.

"In the cold and the dark and the rain, they were wearing minimal clothing. Their arms were glis tening in the rain.

"They were very focused, and the energy sur rounding them was a knockout. All I could think was: Must be like them, must be like them, must be like them."

Ten years later, Kelen is co-leader of the dancers and a core member of the group that perhaps more than any other defines the annual Procession of the Species in Olympia, which is happening at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Although Samba Olywa is a driving passion for Kelen, who also directs communication for the group and serves on the steering committee, s he also is involved in a whole host of other ac tivities - all centered around world music.

"She's a darn good musician," said David Mosely, who co-leads Samba Olywa's music. "She plays the guitar quite well. She's also jumped into the percussion group. She's a woman of many talents."

Kelen is an organizer for South Sound Kids Drum & Dance, a nonprofit that lends instruments and brings drummers and dancers into the schools to teach workshops.

"Someday, we're all going to be in the home for aged sambistas, and we'll need someone younger to do the drumming for us," she said.

Her love for samba also comes through on the radio.

For 11 years, she has co-hosted "Cover the Earth" on KAOS, the public radio station based at The Evergreen State College.

"I started at KAOS radio as a volunteer in 1983," said Kelen, who ended up working as the station's training and operations manager for 13 years. "I didn't know much about Brazilian music then. There was a show then that played Latin American music, and I listened religiously."