Janet Lilly (born August 15, 1957) is an American modern dancer and choreographer. She was a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

for

Bill T. Jones William Tass Jones, known as Bill T. Jones (born February 15, 1952), is an American Choreography, choreographer, director, author and dancer. He is the co-founder of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. The company's home in Manhattan. J ...

and

Arnie Zane Arnie Zane (September 26, 1948 – March 30, 1988) was an American photographer, choreographer, and dancer. He is best known as the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Early years The second so ...

's company from 1983 to 1991. She currently serves as the director of the UNCG College of Visual and Performing Arts, School of Dance at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

. From 2012 to 2014 she was the president of the Board of Directors of Iyengar Yoga National United States Association.

Early life

Lilly grew up in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

and graduated from Iowa City West High School in 1975.

Dance

Lilly graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts in dance. She was a principal dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company from 1983 until 1991. She also worked as a master teacher, rehearsal director, and choreographic assistant for the company. She went on to attend the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

's School of Music, Theatre & Dance for her graduate degree, graduating

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in 1992. Lilly taught at the Peck School of Art's Department of Dance at the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

for fifteen years and served as the Dance Department chair from 2005 to 2009. In 2011 she joined the faculty of the UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance at the

, succeeding

Jan Van Dyke Jan Van Dyke (April 15, 1941 – July 3, 2015) was an American dancer, choreographer, dance educator and scholar who was a pioneer of modern and contemporary dance. Education Van Dyke graduated from the University of Wisconsin with an undergr ...

as the Dance Department chair. In 2016, the Department of Dance became the School of Dance with the creation of the UNCG College of Visual and Performing Arts, with Lilly serving as director of the school. Lilly also serves on the Commission on Accreditation of the National Association of Schools of Dance.

Awards

*2008–2009

Fulbright Lecturer The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

Award *2001 National Endowment of the Arts Creation and Planning Grant

Yoga

Lilly began studying Iyengar Yoga in 1992 while a student in graduate school, where she studied with Laurie Blakeney at the Ann Arbor School of Yoga in Michigan. She has been teaching since 1995. She has studied at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India under

B. K. S. Iyengar Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is the founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga ...

seven times. She was granted a four-month residency at the

University of Pune Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Pune, is a public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshkhind. The uni ...

. From 2012 to 2014 she was the president of the Iyengar National United States Association. She teaches yoga at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and at Triad Yoga in

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilly, Janet Living people 1957 births 20th-century American dancers 21st-century American dancers American women choreographers American choreographers American contemporary dancers American female dancers Dancers from North Carolina American yoga teachers Dance education in the United States Dance in North Carolina American dance teachers American modern dancers Actors from Iowa City, Iowa People from Redlands, California University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee faculty Tisch School of the Arts alumni University of North Carolina at Greensboro faculty Academic staff of Savitribai Phule Pune University Women yogis American women academic administrators 21st-century American women