User:Urlygrrl/Chris Jannides (1977 - 1979)

Chris Jannides (born Wellington, New Zealand in 1952) was a founding dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Limbs Dance Company in Auckland, New Zealand.

This pioneering New Zealand contemporary dance company was established in June 1977 soon after presented their inaugural performance as a lunchtime show in the Maidment Arts Centre at Auckland University. Soon after that show, dancer, teacher and studio owner Mary Jane O'Reilly approached Jannides with a proposal that his company take up residency in her Dance Spectrum studios: Jannides counter-proposed that she instead dissolve her Dance Spectrum partnership and join his group. The result: O'Reilly dissolved her business partnership, keeping one studio, and Jannides and Friends joined her there, collectively becoming Limbs Dance Company with Jannides as artistic director.

The new company was hungry for input, taking classes in improvisation, classical ballet, modern dance, jazz, hatha yoga, voice and creative drama. To fund their activities, the company members taught classes in jazz, modern dance, movement for actors, improvisation, undertook commercial modelling engagements, and presented public and schools performances.

Jannides left Limbs in 1980 and moved to Sydney, Australia. After a period as a freelance choreographer and teacher, in 1988 he formed the dance-in-education company Darc Swan which he led for 15 years, building to an annual audience of around 100,000 young people.

Chris remained with Darc Swan until exhaustion led him to relocate to the land of his father's ancestors - Greece. Spiritual rejuvenation and tranquillity was foreshortened by the offer to become Head of Dance at UNITEC where he led the programme for 8 years, again placing a high priority on the creative interests of the student. He completed an MA during his tenure at UNITEC, investigating models for the optimal career preparation of pre-professional dance artists.

Currently (2010), Jannides is completing a practice-based PhD in the dance programme at the University of Chichester. His research is towards the development of new choreographic tools and outcomes. During 2010 he also returned to UNITEC to make a dance work commissioned as part of the 21st birthday celebrations of the dance programme.