Claudia Moore — incandescent dancer, choreographer, mentor and instigator of imaginative projects — is leaving the Toronto dance scene

Claudia Moore has always been one of Canada’s most extraordinary movers. Soon she’ll be moving on.

Now in her 70th year, the celebrated dancer-choreographer is passing the leadership of her Toronto company MOonhORsE Dance Theatre to new hands. The identity of Moore’s successor will be announced at the latest edition of “Older & Reckless,” the popular MOonhORsE-produced series for mature dance artists she launched in 2000. Moore will be making what could prove to be her final local bow as one of the performers.

“It was not a hard decision to make at all,” said Moore. “I’m really ready to pass the company on. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it for several years, but I wanted it to happen in a very positive way. I’ve had wonderful support from the company’s board of directors throughout the whole process. I was not involved in choosing my successor, but I know who it is and I’m very happy.”

When she founded MOonhORsE in 1996 Moore invented a whimsical, almost fantastical company name that combines “moon” to symbolize poetry and “horse” for physical strength. Then she noticed that with a bit of clever capitalization it could also highlight her own name. Even so, Moore said she’s always seen the company as being more than a vehicle for her own many and varied artistic projects.

“It’s not really about me. It’s about the artists involved,” she said.

Moore grew up in North Tonawanda, N.Y., but has lived most of her career in Toronto since arriving here as a 12-year-old student at the National Ballet School. Stars-to-be Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn were among her fellow students and later professional colleagues at the National Ballet of Canada.

They were special years, including the company’s first visit to London and the arrival of Rudolf Nureyev to stage his version of “The Sleeping Beauty.” Moore, however, felt drawn toward contemporary dance.

She became a standout member of Toronto Dance Theatre until leaving to join the company of her then husband, the equally dazzling dancer and choreographer Robert Desrosiers. Moore was his muse but in the mid-1980s, as their relationship ended, Moore began exploring her own artistic path. It was nearly halted by a serious 1985 car accident in France.

“I went through the windshield,” said Moore. “The French doctors told me I’d need surgery and would never dance again. Thankfully they were wrong on both counts.”

While raising a family, Moore became known professionally for a distinctively gestural, character-based choreographic approach she calls “body poetry.” Meanwhile, she explored her interest in cross-disciplinary projects embracing movement, text, music, performance art and visual design.

By her late 40s, Moore found fewer and fewer opportunities to perform and noticed she was not alone. So, in June 2000, Moore corralled some friends, all seasoned artists like her, Desrosiers among them, and put on a show in a smelly studio space above a car mechanic’s shop at Dupont and Ossington.

This “Older & Reckless” was supposed to be a one-off. It proved such a hit a second edition was convened that November. For several years “Older and Reckless” blossomed into a three-times-a-year event with one of them incorporating young performers alongside the veterans.

Since 2016, Harbourfront Centre Theatre has been its home stage. If you include two virtual pandemic editions, the upcoming “Older & Reckless” will be the series’ 45th.

“As an older artist myself, I’m indebted to Claudia for what she has established,” said 60-year-old Peter Chin, who is choreographing this edition’s large group work.

“Older bodies still have hearts and minds and lots to say,” added Chin. “And they have compelling ways to say it through movement.”

While he won’t dance in his own piece, Chin will lead the live percussion ensemble that also includes Andrew Timar and Hul Rasy.

In the same program, Nova Bhattacharya will revisit 2011’s “Calm Abiding,” a solo choreographed for her by Montreal’s José Navas; street dance maverick Crazy Smooth and Montrealer Saxon Fraser will perform a sizzling duet; and, visiting from the United Kingdom, Emilyn Claid, whom Moore first met at the National Ballet School, will dance an excerpt from her new solo work.

As an incandescent dancer, cross-disciplinary performer, choreographer, instigator of imaginative projects and mentor to those following in her footsteps, Moore has been at the heart of the local dance scene. It’s hard to imagine it without her, but as Moore and her husband of almost 35 years, media artist extraordinaire Laurie-Shawn Borzovoy, contemplate their senior years, the pull of family is drawing them westward.

The couple has a 27-year-old son, Zachary, who currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Their married daughter, Zoë, 33, lives in Kelowna and has two young children, an irresistible attraction.

“We already bought a lovely home in West Kelowna in the summer,” Moore said. “It’s only a 20-minute walk to our grandchildren. Laurie-Shawn is there already.”

Moore insists she does not want to run another dance organization, but that does not mean she’ll turn her back on the art form that’s been central to her existence since childhood.

“I already have a few little projects in mind,” said Moore. “Kelowna has this wonderful Rotary Centre for the Arts. They already co-presented ‘Older & Reckless’ there in 2018. So perhaps I’ll try to invite some of my pals to come out there and perform.

“One thing is certain. I need to keep dancing. The more I dance the more I enjoy it. I’m hooked for life. You’ll have to haul me offstage.”

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