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About Celia Fushille
Celia Fushille (AKA Celia Fushille-Burke) is a distinguished ballet dancer and the Artistic Director of Smuin Contemporary Ballet. With an illustrious career in dance, she has been instrumental in maintaining and evolving the legacy of the late Michael Smuin. Her diverse talents also extend to the film industry, where she played the character Greeata Jendowanian in the Special Edition of “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”.
On February 26, 2024 I wrote the the veteran dancer to request an autograph and that she answer a few questions in order to explore her recollections about working on the film. The following is her response.
Celia Fushille Interview
June 14, 2024
Dear Tim,
Thank you for taking the time to write. I’ll try to answer some of your questions here.
Though it was many years ago, it was an incredible experience working on *Return of the Jedi* and playing the role of Greeata.
I was trained as a professional ballet dancer and spent many of my dancing years here at Smuin Ballet. I have been the artistic director of the company for 17 years, though I’m stepping down soon. I’m a founding member of the company and used to be a dancer here.
George Lucas was a friend and fan of Michael Smuin’s, the late founder of Smuin Ballet. George would often come to our ballet performances and he asked Michael to choreograph the scene in Jabba the Hutt’s palace for inclusion in the re-release of *Return of the Jedi*. We had to audition for the casting director, doing some movements Michael was creating. There were only a few of us involved, so it didn’t feel like too much pressure. When I got the part I could not have anticipated the repercussions of being involved in such a universal phenomenon.
Dance costumes are typically designed for ease of movement. The biggest challenge of being in *Return of the Jedi* was wearing that full-body latex suit and mask which was restrictive. The costume had a leotard underneath with foam padding to produce a reptilian musculature, and over that was layered the full body suit, shoes built into the feet, gloves for the hands, and then the head. Once dressed with the help of costume dressers, I remained in the suit and shoes, but the hands and head would come off between takes. It was incredibly hot inside the suit and wearing it for long periods could be suffocating. The costume shop at Industrial Light and Magic, where we filmed the sequence, actually gave me a practice mask to take home and wear occasionally to get more comfortable wearing it. Having that on your head was quite claustrophobic and felt like putting a plastic bag over your head.
Though I had a costume fitting and a practice dress rehearsal with George Lucas, the actual shoot took place on one day. On that day of filming, George, who hadn’t been behind the camera in 20 years, told me that he would only shoot for 15 minutes at a time, to allow me time to remove the ‘head’ of the costume so that I could breathe. The heat on the set at ILM was extraordinary because of all the lighting equipment (then incandescent lighting not like today’s LED bulbs) coupled with the costume. This technique of filming short segments was developed from experience with the original *Star Wars* film in scenes involving C-3PO.
On the day we filmed, one segment ended up going nearly 30 minutes and I honestly thought I would pass out from the heat.
The three of us aliens who would be seen performing for Jabba, a few background people, and the lead singer of our ‘band’, whose movements were used with CG to create the character of Sy Snootles, were present the day of shooting. We didn’t see or meet all the characters.
Being in *Return of the Jedi* and playing the role of Greeata has resulted in my receiving lots of mail from all over the globe. With its worldwide appeal, I get far more mail for my work in *Return of the Jedi* than I do for the ballet! It’s hard to keep up with all of it. I must admit that when things get busy as they have this year, I can get behind on my mail. I’m constantly amazed by the number of people the films have touched and by those who take the time to write.
May the Force be with you!
Celia Fushille
