The Limbs Dance Company was formed in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand in May 1977 and disbanded in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in September 1989. Limbs was "the first

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...

company in New Zealand to win a general following", and performed alongside notable New Zealand acts such as

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand band formed in 1972. Regarded as the first New Zealand band to gain significant recognition outside of Australasia, they were initially noted for their progressive rock, progressive/art rock sound, flamboyant visua ...

Choreographers included Mary Jane O'Reilly, Chris Jannides, Mark Baldwin, Douglas Wright, Marianne Schultz and

Shona McCullagh Shona Margaret McCullagh is a New Zealand choreographer, dancer, filmmaker and artistic director. McCullagh was the founding director of the New Zealand Dance Company and was appointed artistic director of the Auckland Festival in 2019. Bio ...

. Dorothea Ashbridge was the resident ballet mistress. Music for the dances included those by Coconut Rough,

, Schtung, the

Topp Twins The Topp Twins (born 14 May 1958) are the folk singing and activist sister comedy duo of New Zealand entertainers Jools and Lynda Topp. They are known for their country music influenced style, live shows and television performances. They ofte ...

Jack Body John Stanley Body (7 October 1944 – 10 May 2015) was a New Zealand composer, ethnomusicologist, photographer, teacher, and arts producer. As a composer, his work comprised concert music, music theatre, electronic music, music for film and d ...

, Chris Cree Brown,

Don McGlashan Don McGlashan (born 18 July 1959) is a New Zealand composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for membership in the bands Blam Blam Blam, The Front Lawn, and The Mutton Birds, before going solo. He has also composed for cin ...

, Philip Dadson, Wayne Laird,

Jan Preston Jan Preston is a pianist, composer and songwriter, known as Australasia's Queen of Boogie Piano due to her mastery of the 1930s boogie-woogie piano style. Originally classically trained, she has released over ten solo albums, often featuring her b ...

and Ivan Zagni. When the company closed, their records were taken to Auckland City Library. In September 2017, 40 years since the founding, Marianne Schultz released a comprehensive history of the group entitled ''Limbs Dance Company: Dance for All People, 1977-1989''.

References

External links

Limbs Dance Company
on

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Review, by Brian Jones, of ''Limbs Dance Company: Dance For All People 1977-1989'' by Marianne Schultz
{{authority control Dance companies in New Zealand Arts in New Zealand 1977 establishments in New Zealand 1989 disestablishments in New Zealand