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Abstract Dynamic illumination can improve functionality for multiple application areas, including lighting, AR/VR, automotive, medicine, and security. Some applications require a uniform illumination pattern of continuously variable divergence or size for improved functionality. Such dynamic functionality has previously been achieved, for example, by longitudinally moving a source relative to a curved reflector, which can result poor uniformity, or through zoom configurations in which the longitudinal distances between lenses in the system are dynamically adjusted. Advances in high precision manufacturing methods such as diamond machining have facilitated the practical implementation of freeform optical components, enabling new design approaches and concepts for illumination systems. In this paper, we explore the use of arrays of transmissive pairs of freeform surfaces to enable efficient and uniform dynamic illumination in a compact package. This work builds on the Alvarez lens concept, in which a pair of transmissive XY-polynomial freeform surfaces generates variable optical power through lateral relative shifts. Design approaches and simulation results are presented.