Still doing the splits at 84 | Tri-Cities dancer reflects on time with the Moulin Rouge
Shelagh Moore just can’t stop dancing. At 84 years old she’s shared stages across the world, and she’s showing no signs of slowing down as she leads a fitness class twice a week in the Tri-Cities.
Moore, a retired professional dancer, has had a wildly impressive career, but one of the things she’s most proud of was performing at the original Moulin Rouge in Paris.
She told the Herald that she decided to become a Moulin Rouge dancer because she wanted to see the world, still do what she loves, and get paid for it.
These days she’s teaching a class called Conditioning Plus at Fit For Me women’s gym in Kennewick. And she can still do the splits.
“At my age, I’m blessed to still be able to do what I love doing and have had such an incredible career,” she said.
Carrie Smith, owner of Fit For Me, said Moore is an inspiration.
“She’s really just been so inspirational to myself and to so many of our members here,” Smith said.
Moore has been a fitness instructor for about 10 years, but her journey began decades ago and spans performance venues across the world.
Conditioning Plus
Moore moved to the Tri-Cities 13 years ago when her only grandchild was born.
After moving to the Tri-Cities, she began her workout program for women of all ages on Mondays and Wednesdays at Fit For Me. This total body workout class focuses on joints, muscles, cardio, and weight bearing exercises.
As a fitness Instructor, she has shown the ladies that they can start working out at any age, and they don’t have to stop in their 70s or 80s.
“She’s an inspiration to me, she’s what keeps me coming back all the time,” said Jean Huntz, one of the members of Conditioning Plus.
Huntz has been going to the all women gym for about 11 years.
For the past two years Trudy Lye has driven about 30 minutes to attend the class twice a week.
“I enjoy it so much, it’s like a family... she just keeps me moving,” said Lye.
Her story
Moore was born and raised just outside of Manchester, England. She began dance training when she was 4 years old and by age 16, she had started her career in dance. From 1957 to 1967, she performed in musical theaters in London and other provinces.
She was a featured dancer in Oklahoma, Hit the Deck, Wild Violets, Sweet Charity and for London Pigalle. She also spent three years as a ballet mistress and was a dance captain for three years touring with the Doris Ballet. She also spent several years performing in Spain on TV and in movies and theaters.
She continued to perform in over 200 TV shows with different companies and celebrities, like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Mathus, Julie Andrews and Judy Garland. She also performed in Two Royal Command performances.
She worked for 30 years as a professional performer, and 20 of those years as a dance teacher and choreographer, in the Seattle area.
She later retired from teaching and went back to performing as a singer and dancer in the 12th season of Palm Springs Follies, a type of musical review show. From 2005 to 2006, she appeared in Branson, Mo., Follies.
These days, she’s showing others that they can still do what they love at any age.
