Irish dancer taps into varied life

Rhythms of Ireland lead soloist David Moore has worn out almost as many day jobs as dance shoes during his ''glittering'' onstage career.
Moore, 34, speaking from Australia, said he had dipped a toe in several wildly different fields _ property sales, banking, reporting and marketing _ during his unfettered rise through several international dance companies after first dancing as an 8-year-old in his hometown of Drogheda, County Louth.
He is today leading an elite company of dancers and musicians for a month-long tour of New Zealand that includes his inaugural Masterton performance on July 6.
Within four years of starting dance, Moore had enjoyed success at all levels of international competition, and had retired somewhat prematurely as a Irish dance champion.
Seven years later, he was studying for a degree when the phenomenal success of Riverdance spurred him to return to dance.
Moore has since performed for the late Prince Rainier and the reigning Prince Albert of Monaco, as well as for such international stars as Tina Turner and Rod Stewart.
He has danced in Feet of Flames, Lord of the Dance and more recently as the lead in Magic of the Dance.
Moore joined Riverdance in 2004, he said, performing the lead role at the prestigious Gaeity Theatre in Dublin.
Landing the lead was a long-held ambition and he gives much of the credit to the support of his late mother, Nuala.
During the same time he had a two-week stint as a reporter for the Irish Independent newspaper, but within weeks found a distaste for deadlines and ink.
''I was only there for two weeks before I quit. My first story was about the Dublin docks. I can't imagine anything more boring and I didn't like being told what to write about.''
The tour of New Zealand will be his fourth visit to the country and comes in the same year he has begun writing his own musical and started taking classes as a qualified dance teacher and choreographer.
''I've been lucky in dance and despite testing the waters in other places to see what suited me most, I believe your destiny is mapped out and my career has been glittering, for want of a better word,'' Moore said.
''I just seem to have been in the right place at the right time.
''As a dancer it's either a feast or a famine and at times I've become physically and mentally fatigued and looked elsewhere. But once I've rested, I get a call and I'm drawn back again.''
Moore has suffered a few injuries during his career, including twice pulling a hamstring and once wrenching an ankle.
''Nothing's been so bad it's ever stopped me _ even though the high jumps take a real toll on your ankles, knees and back.
''I'm old for a dancer but again I've been lucky. I'm qualified as a teacher and choreographer and there's the musical I'm writing, so for today dance is still my destiny. But that could change tomorrow.''