Viv Moore
As we approach the 20th anniversary of Older & Reckless, we shine a light on the senior artists who we are honoured to feature in our celebrations, including the whimsical and daring performance veteran VIV MOORE
Photographer Marvan Kwan
Dancer/Choreographer Viv Moore
Worcestershire Saucy solo show at Factory Theatre
Last week, Viv Moore led a cast of 25 senior dance artists and community movers in the Nelken Line at The Bentway - what a gorgeous gathering of dancing elders - older & reckless and all dressed up for the celebration!
Viv reflects on her long relationship with dance:
Dance has been my life since I was 4. I can’t think of a time that my body has not been moving. When I was a baby, I evidently used to wake like a lightning bolt, “ready to go”. As a little girl, I was told by my scary great Aunt, that people would think I’d got St Vitus’s Dance if I didn’t stop moving. I’m a bit of an eclectic sponge. Having been trained in classical ballet for 14 yrs, I began to enjoy other forms more, including Modern Dance, Jazz, Butoh, stage combat and step/clog receiving a Chalmers to further study the latter 3.
Here are a few of Viv's pivotal dance moments:
Meeting Dave, my life partner, at a Dance class in Vancouver, by chance. Later travelling together as ‘Remote Control’ to Australia, to present at a conference, and ending up creating a Dance degree curriculum for a University in Sydney.
Creating my solo show ‘Worcestershire Saucy’, which included Dance, monologues and my visual art.
In 2001, hiring my 82yr old Mum, who has danced all her life, to co-create a dance piece called ‘Hags’ for Older & Reckless. Mum, now 100, unfortunately has dementia, but is still extremely vital. She just has to see and feel movement and she’s off to the races. For the past 4 yrs, I’ve been her caregiver and during the beginning of the Pandemic, we made quite a few dance videos together. I’ve loved performing, creating, movement directing, teaching and wearing many hats, in order to stay excited about life.
Photographer unknown
Hags 2001 Older & Reckless
Dancemakers Studio
When Claudia asked me to lead the Nelken Line at The Bentway for the 20th Anniversary, I was over the moon. I was so happy to be creating with peers and feeling the joy of being involved in the O&R community again.
I’m grateful to have been able to be a Dancer wherever I’ve lived, in England, Calgary, Montréal, Vancouver and Toronto. Who knows where the future will take me?
VIV MOORE (vivmoore.com) Born in England, Viv has been dancing, choreographing and acting both collaboratively and as a solo artist since 1979. Selected credits: actor (Theatre Rusticle; TV series Damien; movie The Witch); movement director, coach, choreographer (Theatre Direct, Shaw Festival, Theatre Passe Muraille); dancer (Denise Fujiwara, Sashar Zarif); self-directed solo show Worcestershire Saucy. She continues her practice in movement and bouffon. Viv is a part-time Professor at Humber College. 1999 Paula Citron fFIDA Award for Bogie Woman; Chalmer's Fellowship of the Arts to further her studies in English step dance, weaponry and Butoh (2012); several Dora nominations.
