“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;”>When professional dancer Erin Moore was in third grade, a fellow student at New City School in University City gave her some life-changing advice.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“There was a kid in class who performed in theater,” she said. “At recess he’d tell me where to find auditions in the calendar section of the newspaper.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Now Moore arrives every day at the renowned Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. at 6 p.m. She puts on her make-up, preps her hair for a wig, and takes the stage in Follies as one of the ensemble dancers.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The Kennedy Center really went big with its revival,” she said of the show, which runs until June 19. “The costumes are elaborate. It’s a spectacle.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Moore
has been
dancing professionally since 2005, when she graduated from Alvin
Ailey School of Dance/Fordham University in New York. This show has
her tap dancing next to legendary Broadway veterans, including
Bernadette Peters and Linda Lavin. Moore plays the “Young Stella”
to Terri White, who had a recent resurgence on Broadway when she
was cast in Finian’s
Rainbow.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It’s not every day you get to be in cast like this,” Moore said. “Just to be in a room with so much talent, I felt like I was putting little things in my bag every day learning from them.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>As a young girl, Moore took recreation dance classes at Wren Pelagie Green Academy of Dance, an African-American run studio, and performed as one of the original MUNY Kids.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Then in eighth grade, Moore began taking formal dance classes at COCA in University City, under Lee Nolting. Moore (and many others who studied under Nolting) went on to become professional dancers, she said.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“She really knew how to inspire the love of dance,” Moore said of Nolting. “Being in that place and all the kids who share a love for it, and having a teacher who was so loving – it made you love it.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Nolting said she gets equal joy from watching her former student dance.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“She dances with a mesmerizing precision that not only makes you watch, but it makes you feel her performance,” Nolting said.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Moore
graduated
from the Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School. Yet, when
it came time to make a college decision, Moore was torn. Should she
go straight into dance at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance/Fordham
University BFA program? Or should she major in political science at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while continuing
her dance training?
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I signed both acceptance letters,” she said. “I told my dad, ‘Send one, I can’t decide.’ He sent the one to Chapel Hill.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>For more than a year, Moore was a traditional college student. However, the summer after her freshman year, she attended a dance program at the Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Camp, which encouraged her to make dance a career. That fall semester she transferred to Fordham University.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Fordham schedule was nothing like a normal college schedule. She took academic classes in the morning, and then she had her dance core classes. Then rehearsals, then maybe another evening dance class.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In January of her senior year, Moore got her first job as a concert dancer with Philadanco, the renowned Philadelphia-based modern dance company. She traveled the country and the world. Her versatility in dance led her to roles in musical theater, commercial advertising and television appearances. In 2010, Moore performed on NBC’s
“mso-bidi-font-style: normal;”>Saturday Night Live West.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“I plan on being in the biz for a while,” she said. “Seeing these ladies in their 60s and 80s, I feel like I have a long career ahead of me, if I choose.”
