Mary Jane O'Reilly (born 23 July 1950) is a New Zealand

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

r and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. She is best known for co-founding the

Limbs Dance Company The Limbs Dance Company was formed in Auckland, New Zealand in May 1977 and disbanded in Wellington in September 1989. Limbs was "the first contemporary dance company in New Zealand to win a general following", and performed alongside notable New Z ...

and the Auckland Dance Company, and choreographing the opening ceremony for the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1990 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Partic ...

and the millennium dawn celebrations at Gisborne.

Career

During her career, O'Reilly has held positions including: * Artistic director,

(1977–1989) * Director of choreography, Commonwealth Games, Auckland (1989–1990) * Advisor to

QEII Arts Council The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

(1991–1992) * Artistic director, Auckland Dance Company (1996–2001) * Governor, Arts Foundation of New Zealand (1999–2004) * Senior lecturer in dance at the University of Auckland (2001–2004) * Artistic director, TEMPO Festival of Dance (2006–2011) * Artistic director, Living Room Festival (2012) Her students have included Mark Baldwin and Douglas Wright.

Honours and awards

In 1984, O'Reilly received the Allen Highet Award for outstanding achievement by a mid-career artist. In the

1990 Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 1990 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 15 June 1990, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 1990. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged firstly by the ...

, she received the

Queens Service Medal The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services.

References

External links

Profile at Independancenz

Personal 'Dance Diary'
1950 births Living people New Zealand female dancers New Zealand choreographers 20th-century New Zealand dancers 21st-century New Zealand dancers University of Auckland faculty Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal {{Dance-bio-stub