Dance at Illinois

Dance at Illinois HS Summer Dance Intensive was AMAZING!! 48 talented young artists spent a week with us here at UIUC. We hope to see them back in our spaces again soon…special thanks to our amazing faculty, Dr. Kemal Nance, Roxane D’Orleans Juste, Anna Sapozhnikov, Jacob Henss, Hollis Bartlett, Nattie Trogden, Cody Jensen, Aaron Wilson, our group leaders; Avi Pellegrinetti (BFA ‘26) & Elle Kramer (BFA ‘28) and FAA rockstar organizer, Brenda Williams 💙🧡

DAI Proud!!

🎉 Congratulations to Mariam Thiam Hill (BFA, Dance 2004) on her leadership role at the recent opening of the Obama Presidential Center!

As the Curator of Public Programs, Mariam Thiam was a part of the team leading the vision and programming for the Center’s three-day opening weekend June 19-21, helping to shape a landmark moment for Chicago and the nation.

Mariam Thiam, a 2023 College of Fine and Applied Arts Legacy Award recipient, has an extensive background in public programming. Prior to her current role with the Obama Foundation, she served as Director of Performing Arts for the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, where she led the curatorial team behind beloved citywide events including the Chicago Blues Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago SummerDance, the Millennium Park Summer Music Series, and developed and implemented public programming at the University of Chicago’s Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.

We are incredibly proud to celebrate Mariam Thiam’s accomplishments and her contributions to this historic occasion. Congratulations on this well-deserved achievement and for continuing to inspire through your leadership, vision, and commitment to the arts and community. ✨
Dance at Illinois

Creative Dance for Children Fall 2026 Session Registration is OPEN!! Secure your spot today!!

Creative Dance for Children Creative Dance for Children is an innovative community program provided by the University of Illinois Department of Dance under the direction of Betty Allen. Instructors (Betty Allen and Ty Lewis) collaborate to design and deliver creative dance classes tailored for children aged 4-10. With a focus....

A wonderful week of creative dance here at UIUC!!

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🌟 The recipient of the 2026 Specialized Faculty Award for Excellence is Betsy Brandt with Dance at Illinois! 🌟

This award recognizes instructors, lecturers, clinical and teaching professors who demonstrate excellence through their positive impact on students in the classroom, influential advising and mentoring, and innovative curricular development and teaching approaches.

Betsy's nominator shared: “Betsy has expanded the footprint of our reach while embodying excellence in teaching minors, majors, and graduate students. On a daily basis, her intellect seamlessly telescopes from the needs of individual students to questions about how our department interfaces with the university’s largest-scale initiatives. Betsy has led the effort to make our online course offerings and our dance minor both academically rigorous and culturally responsive. All of this is possible in terms of scale and excellence because of her vision.”

Congratulations, Betsy!

So excited to share the next four years with these amazing young artists! Welcome to our incoming BA/BFA cohort: Sunyatta, Sanah, Molly, Mackenzie, LeiLani, Grace, Ginger, Evie, Erica, Ellie, Charlotte, Ava, Amara, Alisia, Aimee, Adalynn, Abigail, Arielle (not pictured) and Linya (not pictured).

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Major congratulations to our staff and faculty who were acknowledged with college excellence awards at the end of this academic year! More to come about the individual awards and awardees 🎉

Congratulations to our incredible graduates.❤️
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Fancy Dancy Banquet 🧡💙