Honorary Degree: Kyle Abraham ’00

Kyle Abraham is the Founder and Artistic Director of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, a company widely celebrated as “one of the most consistently excellent troupes working today” by The New York Times.

A Pittsburgh native, Abraham trained at the Creative and Performing Arts High School before earning a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, later receiving an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Washington Jefferson College.

A recently named Guggenheim Fellow (2026), MacArthur Fellow (2013), and Doris Duke Award recipient (2016), he has been recognized with a Princess Grace Statue Award, multiple National Dance Critics’ Awards, and an Olivier Award nomination for Best New Dance Production.

His choreography has been commissioned by some of the world’s most prestigious companies, including American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, New York City Ballet, and the Royal Ballet.

Beyond his artistic achievements, Abraham has been a dedicated educator and cultural leader, serving as the Claude and Alfred Mann Endowed Professor in Dance at USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and as a visiting professor at UCLA.

He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served on advisory boards for Dance Magazine — for which he served as the first-ever Guest Editor — and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Named a Kennedy Center Next 50 Leader and honored by Dance Magazine as a “voice of a generation,” Abraham continues to push the boundaries of contemporary dance through works that celebrate Black and queer stories and the full richness of human experience.