Past Work

Past Work

1970's

1970 Black Sheep Jeans was the first collaboration between Phil and me—our made-to-measure denim label. We started making jeans privately in London, then carried the concept to Tucson, Arizona in 1972.

1973 / 74 After an epic overland journey through Afghanistan and India and South East Asia, we returned to New Zealand.

1974 we had a stall at Cook Street Market, where every Friday we sold out of the denim outfits we’d designed and made throughout the week.

1975 we sold Black Sheep Jeans to Hugh Lynn and hit the road again—this time through Mexico and the U.S., pausing in San Francisco where I studied Cunningham technique.

1976 We returned to New Zealand, I started the Dance Spectrum studio and it didn’t take long before a group of dedicated dancers—who would later form Limbs—began attending classes. We also would all attend Russell Kerr’s ballet classes at his studio just behind the St James Theatre - where the Auckland Central Library now stands

1976 / 77, the Porangahau Choreographic Workshop took place, initiated by Impulse Dance Company. Out of that, when we returned to Auckland, Limbs Dance Company was born.

See Marianne Schultz’s book -

Limbs Dance Company: Dance For All People, 1977-1989

1977 Limbs was like a comet—burning brightly across the sky from 1977 to 1989.
I was honored and delighted to be part of that journey for the first ten years (1977–86). What a time.

I loved dancing, and over time, I grew to love choreographing too. I was ready to give everything—the sweat, the late nights, the hard work—just for the chance to dance and perform.

We soared through incredible highs and pushed through some tough times. But always, the passion for the art of dance and our desire to share this with our audiences kept us going.

1977 / 78 Performances at Nambassa and Sweetwater festivals and a Student Arts Council tour of NZ campuses cemented our popularity.

1979 The poster of us all is from our first sold out tour to Australia - Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide. We danced at the Sydney Opera House in a shared programme with Sydney Dance Company, ADT, and others.

Black Sheep Jeans - Phil and MJ O'Reilly

MJ and Phil at their stall

Limbs in MJ’s work Reptile: dancers are from left Adrian Batchelor, MJ, Lynda Amos, Kilda Northcott, Chris Jannides

Limbs at the first Nambassa 1979. Dancers - Adrian Batchelor, Julie Dunningham, Kilda Northcott, Debra McCulloch, MJ, Mark Baldwin.

Limbs tour poster 1979. Dancers - MJ, Adrian Batchelor, Alfred Williams, Shona Wilson, Kilda Northcott, Douglas Wright, Debra McCulloch, Mark Baldwin.

Limbs at the head, Head Hunter's birthday party 1978. Dancers - Kilda Northcott, MJ

Limbs at Sweetwaters 1979. Dancers - Adrian Batchelor, Debra McCulloch

1980's

Mark Baldwin and MJ, in ‘30's Piece’ by Mark - as guest dancers in Red Mole Theatre’s show at the Ace of Clubs, 1978

1981 Limbs toured to New York - we performed my work Saga and more - on the outdoor stage at the Lincoln Centre and got a rave review!!

"Limbs, a four year old dance troupe from Auckland, New Zealand, more than lived up to its billing as an ‘innovative and sparkling’ young dance company."

- Jennifer Dunning NEW YORK TIMES

1983 Sue Paterson was our manager and was such a dynamo woman, she set up some wonderful tours for us including touring to Papua New Guinea for the 1980 Pacific Arts Festival and to a local festival in the Highlands in 1983.

1984 We toured again to New York, and onto Mexico to the Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato - to rave reviews

1985 I made Brian Tries when I was very pregnant - a lighthearted piece to Topp Twins songs. Photo of all the dancers in op shop clothes.

1985 I had our baby daughter Morgana and departed Limbs in 1986 as I just couldn’t do both - run a dance company and care for a new baby. Especially as the Limbs studios on Brown St burnt down three weeks after she was born! Adding more stress to an already super challenging time.

1987 invited to Portugal by Rui Horta to put Saga on with Lisbon Dance Company.

1988 Our proposal (Phil, Joe Bleakley and I) won the public tender to create the Opening Ceremony of the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland.

1989 The whole of '89 was spent every weekend choreographing on huge numbers of amateur movers - gymnasts, martial arts, etc and all week managing the admin - producer Logan Brewer was a fantastic producer for the whole event. In the end it was a fabulous event on the 18th January 1990, perfect weather, perfect in every way. 5000 performers and 500 million viewers worldwide.

Poster with dancers from left: Shona Wilson, Debra McCulloch, Kilda Northcott, Douglas Wright. Poster design Phil O’Reilly

Lumpy Porridge, 1980 (Debra McCulloch, Douglas Wright)

Saga, 1980 (Debra McCulloch)

Limbs tour to Papua New Guinea. - Back row Mud Men and Adrian Batchelor

Front row: Bruce Hopkins, Wendy Preston, MJ, Susan Trainor, Sue Peacock, Debra McCulloch

Saga, 1987 (Taiaroa Royal as the Bird)

Dooby Doo - dancers: MJ and Brian Carbee (one of my many fab partners for this dance), music by Taj Mahal

Poster for Students Arts Council tour: dancer Kilda Northcott

Love Song: dancers Adrian Batchelor, Debra McCulloch

Knee Dance by Douglas Wright (Debra McCulloch, Douglas Wright, MJ)

Limb's Brown St Studios, 1983 (MJ)

Paper Clipping of Morgana's Birth, 1985

Limbs on tour New York, 1984 (Susan Paterson, Phil O'Reilly, MJ)

"Brian Tries", 1985/86. Back row from left: Glen Mayo, Will Thomson, Mark White, Taiaroa Royal. Front row from left: Katie McDermott, Leanne Plunkett, Debra McCulloch, Felicity Molloy, Joanne Kelly. Kneeling: Shona McCullagh

Morgana and MJ, 1986

Dorothea Ashbridge, 1985

Susan Paterson, 1985

Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, 18th January 1990

Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, 18th January 1990

1990's

1990 After the Commonwealth Games I was in Wellington creating the first ever commissioned full length ballet for the New Zealand Ballet - Jean, the ballet. About our most famous aviator Jean Batten. Jonathan Besser composed a fantastic orchestral score for the ballet.

Jean, the ballet premiered in March 1990 at the newly opened Aotea Centre and toured the country, eventually being recorded for television and screened on TV1 later that year.

"Jean - a triumph"

- Jane Phare NZ HERALD

Later that year I was awarded a QSM for services to dance.

1992 Commissioned to create a work for the Wellington Arts Festival I made A4, Adam and Eve Revisited with dancers Kilda Northcott (as Lilith), Mark Baldwin (as the snake), Felicity Molloy (as the apple), Helen Winchester (as Eve) and Peter Sears (as Adam). This was recreated in 1994 for the Taranaki Arts Festival.

1995 I was keen to further explore my contemporary ballet language so I made Dust in the Air, (with four fabulous dancers - Helaina Keeley, Raewyn Hill, Geordan Wilcox, Liz Kirk) and this led to setting up Auckland Dance Company in 1996 with our first work being Giselle, On Another Planet

1997 ADC continued with events such as a commissioned work for the first WOMAD at Western Springs Park with a cast of 30 dancers and 2 bands - Te Vaka and Jonathan Besser’s band.

1998 Harbour Dance was created and the idea was to give the performances away for free under the Weekend of Performing Arts (WPAS) banner on Queens Birthday weekend. The Auckland Town Hall was packed to the rafters for those performances in early June that year. Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns played Hirinis songs and Jonathan Besser was playing the newly refurbished organ. ADC dancers with invited children (primary and secondary students) performed up a storm

1999 I was invited to create a ceremony for the 1st January 2000 Millennium Dawn in Gisborne to be performed at 5.30 that morning. We (Phil and I) worked on Te Rangimarie with the ADC dancers and composer Jonathan Besser - all through 1999 and had a satisfying one off performance (with ADC dancers, 150 local performers and Kiri te Kanawa) on January 1st - with the sun shining briefly before the clouds swallowed it - the whole country was engulfed in rain that morning.

Jean NZ Ballet Poster, 1990

MJ receiving QSM, 1990

Lee Patrice as Jean courtesy of RNZBC

Crater Dance by ADC at Te Papa Marae, 'Rongomaraeroa'

Dust in the Air Poster, 1995 (Phil O'Reilly design)

Crater Dance at WOMAD 1997

Dancers Merenia Gray and Maaka

Giselle, On Another Planet, 1995 (Featuring Jason Moore, and Kilda Northcott)

1996 at the beautiful old dance studios above McDonalds on Queen st.

Dancers from left: Trilby Palmer, Angela Gendall, Liz Kirk, Melinda Palmer, Kelly Irwin

Seated Felicity Molloy

Red Cloaks in Gisborne

Gisborne Millennium Dawn Ceremony, January 1 2000

Mark Baldwin dancing with Helen Winchester in Adam and Eve Revisited

Red Cloaks from Romeo and Juliet

Gisborne Millennium Dawn Ceremony, January 1 2000

2000's

Being asked to set up a dance programme for the University of Auckland was a sideways leap for me and it was a challenge - but I was privileged to be part of a team with credible actual dance experience to teach/lecture - Timothy Gordon, Juliet Fisher and Marianne Schultz

And the best bit for me was I ended up having the opportunity to create a Limbs Retrospective (a programme of the older works from 1977-82 by myself, Chris Jannides, Mark Baldwin, Shona McCullagh and Douglas Wright ) with a cast of new young dancers which toured the country in 2001. The dancers were: Dolina Wehipeihana, Kelly Nash, Justine Hohaia, Sean McDonald, Tim Fletcher, Natasha Alpe, Debbie Fulford, Paora Taurima - many of them still dancing, making work, contributing to dance in NZ.

The short dance film Canopy grew out of this programme.

2006-11 I became the Artistic Director of Tempo Dance Festival - lifting the festival to new heights of general awareness and popularity.

2009 I created my solo Witch Bitch to open for Morgana’s solo show Height of the Eiffel Tower which I continued to perform til 2014.

Canopy Short Film, 2001

Tempo festival poster with Guy Ryan and Malia Johnston

Tempo poster with Brooke

Witch Bitch Short Films 2009

2010's

2011 I created in collaboration with Phil - our cabaret burlesque work In Flagrante - which has successfully toured NZ and abroad - with invited performances at the Edinburgh Fringe and The Seychelles in 2013.

2012 Horses Burlesque short film (director Peter Salmon) grew out out of our In Flagrante programme.

2014 I began teaching Adult Ballet at TAPAC and continue to do this now…

2016 Nurse Me short film was created (director Kezia Barnett).

2015 &2018 our darling grandchildren (Luna and Ziggy) were born to Morgana and Peter.

2017 & 18 we toured In Flagrante to the Butterfly Club in Melbourne to rave reviews.

2019 We presented What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted at the Auckland Art Gallery - they were the first 2 scenes of Ballet Noir… and a short film of this public, free, daylight performance was created.

Horse Burlesque, Nurse Me and Marching Girls Short Films, 2012, 2016, 2013

Family Photo (Phil, MJ, Luna and Ziggy)

2020's

2021 we presented the full Ballet Noir ( in 2 acts) as part of Auckland’s Elemental Festival - and again in 2023 at Q Theatre.

2021 we devised a new iteration of In Flagrante - Mouthfeel - with whisky tasting and a fabulous MC - Ali Beal and performed it at Anthology on Karangahape Rd, Auckland.

2022 In Flagrante is still being performed now - most recently in 2022 the Mouthfeel iteration at Auckland Live’s Cabaret Festival at the Civic’s Wintergarden.

2023 and 2025 I taught at the Seasoned Dance Symposium in Christchurch /Otautahi - contemporary ballet for adults and an old Limbs work of mine - Talking Heads.

2025 I’ve continued teaching my contemporary ballet classes at TAPAC.

In Flagrante poster, Maria Munkowits

Ballet Noir dress rehearsal at Wellesley Studios. The Cynics with their Ice Queen - Shona Wilson

In Flagrante: Maria Munkowits, Amanda Macfarlane

In Flagrante original poster, Amanda Macfarlane

Mouthfeel finale at Civic Theatre, Auckland live Cabaret Season, dancers - Maria Munkowits, Amanda Macfarlane, Jane Strickland, Julie Van Renen, Lucy Lynch.

Ballet Noir performance with The Cynics at the Bruce Mason Centre, Elemental Festival 2021