Lilly graduated from
New York University's
Tisch School of the Arts 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's
School of Music, Theatre & Dance for her graduate degree, graduating
summa cum laude in 1992. Lilly taught at the
Peck School of Art's Department of Dance at the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee 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
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, succeeding
Jan Van Dyke 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 Award • 2001
National Endowment of the Arts Creation and Planning Grant == Yoga ==