Older and Reckless? At its inception, the name of the show for dancers and choreographers (initially over 40) had a whimsical air, implying “nothing left to lose.” Over time, the showcase for senior dance artists, established in 2000 by Claudia Moore when she led Moonhorse Dance Theatre, has become an occasion for artists more than 45 years of age to advance their craft, take new risks and mentor younger dancers and choreographers.

At first, says Allison Cummings, Moonhorse artistic director since 2022, Older and Reckless “was a more casual, small series where they had three shows a year at the Dancemakers studio. In 2016, Claudia felt our seasoned artists need a bigger stage and so it was pared down to one show a year at Harbourfront Centre.”

So the Older and Reckless show celebrating 25 years of the event, with three performances November 21 to 22 at the Fleck Harbourfront Centre stage, is kind of a big deal. Since the very first show, in which Robert Desrosiers performed a solo, Older and Reckless has been a platform for a long line of dancers and choreographers, from Karen and Allen Kaeja, to José Navas, to Peter Chin, Denise Fujiwara, Learie McNicolls … the list goes on. For the 25^th anniversary, Moonhorse is assembling an eight-minute video drawing on archival footage to show the range of work presented. (Among my personal favourites is a performance by Elizabeth Langley in which she presented herself as the child of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.)

“I’ve changed the word ‘senior,’ to ‘lifelong.’ I think it’s more appropriate,” says Cummings, who curates each Older and Reckless through a combination of performers reaching out to her and calling on artists to present existing or new work. She makes every effort to ensure that all the people involved in putting on the show, which typically features three 20-minute works, are also in the 45-plus category.

The 2025 show includes an intriguing pairing – Montreal dancers Marc Boivin and Louise Bédard – in a duet, Handmade, exploring what it means to be older and (possibly more) reckless. Carol Anderson first presented Elsinore/night hours, a solo for Julia Sasso, in 1999. Sasso will reprise the work for this show.

Dancer/choreographer William Yong, who began his career in ballet, has joined up with Sonia Rodriguez, former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, to present the solo de corazón (from the heart). Collaboration with Rodriguez, who retired from the National Ballet in 2022, began with a conversation.

“I discovered such richness in her life story,” says Yong. “I felt that, at this moment in her career, a solo for someone like Sonia — a true ballet legend — needed to come from something deeply personal, something from her heart. We spoke about everything: her journey to Canada, her extraordinary career, her family, and motherhood.” What he gleaned from became the basis for a dance that Yong says is “simple, direct and full of feeling.” 

Year-round, Moonhorse sponsors workshops and dance classes for people over 45 and interdisciplinary exchange programs by and for older dance artists.

More than a decade ago, Moonhorse began a community performance project that was, says Cummings, “a way to get people from our audiences who were not dancers into a creative process and on stage.” This year Jenn Goodwin has created a six-minute piece for 26 dance enthusiasts.

“We have people who come back every single year. It’s an opportunity for them to really experience from the inside what they love so much to watch,” adds Cummings.

Like the trained professionals, these untrained dancers are driven by a lifelong passion: “I want to dance.” 

Older & Reckless
November 21 at 8pm
November 22 at 2pm and 8pm, 2025
Fleck Harbourfront Centre Theatre, Toronto