Samantha Pippa Moore (born ) is an English ballet dancer. She joined the

Northern Ballet Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The compa ...

in 1996, was promoted to premier dancer in 2009 and retired in 2019. She now works as artistic and learning assistant with the Northern Ballet.

Early life and training

Moore was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. She first studied dance at Elliott-Clarke School of Dance, where her mother worked next door. Moore initially trained in various dance styles, including ballet, modern dance and tap. She later attended

the Hammond School The Hammond is a specialist performing arts offering training and education to students across school, college and degree courses. History In 1917, Irene Hammond, a dance teacher and performer from Cheltenham, moved to Chester where she began ...

and the

Royal Ballet Upper School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

, and took classes with

during school holidays.

Career

Moore first auditioned for the

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

-based Northern Ballet when she was eighteen. However, director

Christopher Gable Christopher Michael Gable, CBE (13 March 194023 October 1998) was an English ballet dancer, choreographer and actor. Life and career Dance career Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal ...

rejected her due to her lack of experience. Then, she danced with smaller touring troupe Wiener Ballet, which performed at different locations every night. In 1996, she auditioned for Northern Ballet again, and was hired for three months to substitute an injured dancer on tour. She learned three ballets three weeks before the tour started. She remained in the company after the tour. Her first breakthrough was as Lucy in the third cast of Gable's ''Dracula''. In 2004, she was nominated for outstanding female artist (classical) at the

National Dance Awards The National Dance Awards are presented annually in the United Kingdom by The Critics' Circle, and are awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance. They are widely regarded as the most prestigious award presented for dance in the UK, ...

. She rose through the ranks and in 2009, she was promoted to premier dancer. She had created roles in various new ballets. She is tall, which is short for ballet dancers, so she was often cast as children or young characters. In 2019, Moore retired from performing. Her last role was as Older

Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charle ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's youngest daughter, in

Cathy Marston Cathy Marston (born 1975) is a British choreographer and artistic director. She was the director of Bern Ballett from 2007–2013. After her tenure, she has choreographed for companies worldwide, including The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet ...

's new ballet ''Victoria''. Coincidentally, she was 44, the same age as her character at the start of the ballet. She remains in the Northern Ballet as an artistic and learning assistant, and also works for Academy of Northern Ballet. Moore was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to dance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Pippa 1970s births Living people Entertainers from Liverpool English ballerinas Northern Ballet dancers People educated at the Royal Ballet School 20th-century ballet dancers 20th-century British dancers 21st-century ballet dancers 21st-century British dancers Members of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth uncertain