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

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

r and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. 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 () 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. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

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 (1991–1992) * Artistic director, Auckland Dance Company (1996–2001) * Governor,

Arts Foundation of New Zealand The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists. The foundatio ...

(1999–2004) * Senior lecturer in dance at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

(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, she received the

Queens Service Medal The King'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 ...

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 Academic staff of the University of Auckland Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal {{Dance-bio-stub