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Champaign-Urbana
Serving Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy, IllinoisVol. 1, No. 24
Schools

University of Illinois dance professor Cynthia Oliver wins 2026 Knight Choreography Prize

Schools desk
Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026In the Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026 edition

CHAMPAIGN - Cynthia Oliver, a dance professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received the 2026 Knight Choreography Prize, the university's News Bureau announced Oct. 13. The National Center for Choreography-Akron awards the prize, which the Knight Foundation funds.

The award includes $30,000 in unrestricted cash and $20,000 in program support over two years, according to the announcement. Peers nominate choreographers, and a selection committee chooses the winner from five finalists.

Oliver said she will put the cash toward costs for her newest work, "Turn. Turning. TURNT.," including dancers' fees, and will use the program support to finish a memoir on choreography. The piece played Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 2-3 and is scheduled at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Nov. 4-7.

"That my work is recognized by peers, facilitators, presenters and funders means everything to me," Oliver said in the announcement.

Source: University of Illinois News Bureau, Oct. 13, 2026 (https://news.illinois.edu/illinois-dance-professor-choreographer-awarded-knight-choreography-prize/).

Drafted by AI from the linked public source. Approved by a Daily News Editor.

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