ORLANDO, FL. – Tuesday, January 3, 2023 – Atlanta-based dancer and choreographer Heath Gill, who won acclaim last season for his choreographic work with Orlando Ballet, will retire from the Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre stage, the company he co-founded with four other principal dancers, to join the artistic team at Orlando Ballet.
Beginning in January 2023, Gill will serve as Guest Rehearsal Director and Choreographer. In his role, he will work with choreography, teach class, and help stage Moulin Rouge® The Ballet which will be performed in February 2023. Gill joins Artistic Director Jorden Morris and Associate Artistic Director Lisa Thorn Vinzant.
“I could not be more excited about Heath’s joining the Orlando Ballet company,” said Morris, who has worked with Gill in the past including in Moulin Rouge® The Ballet. “Not only does he bring remarkable talent in terms of dance, Heath also has an exciting, fresh and innovative vision in contemporary choreography which was very well received last season in his production of “Confronting Genius” in The Premiere Collection.”
John Welker, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre Director said, “I’m truly thrilled for Heath. Obviously, there’s a bittersweet element in that Heath is irreplaceable and he will be missed. As a co-founder of Terminus he’s part of our DNA, which is why we’re exploring ways to keep his voice present in our repertoire moving forward.”
Welker added, “I feel his move to join the artistic team at Orlando Ballet will help him to continually evolve creatively and give him a support system that will provide great artistic opportunities.”
Gill said he appreciated the warm welcome he received from Orlando Ballet last season and that the company “…has a powerful wave already in motion and I’m looking forward to doing my part in helping it reach new heights.”
“I am incredibly fortunate to have worked for and alongside so many brilliant people that have fed me as an artist and shaped me as a human,” Gill noted. “Because of them, I can happily say that I’ve had a dance career that was fulfilling. Now I am thrilled to be shifting my focus outwards to helping the next generation of brilliant artists achieve their dreams.”
Gill added that he is incredibly proud of the achievements of Terminus. “Together we took what was just a crazy idea that lived in our minds and turned it into an incredible company that now has legs of its own. I will dearly miss seeing all the “Terminators” every day, but it will only make the time we get together on any future projects that much sweeter.”
He is already working on “The Next Big Thing” production of Orlando Ballet’s Director’s Choice in March 2023. “My inspirations for this stem from themes of anticipation and desire. This premiere is revealing itself to be a whimsical and ironic contemporary piece that is energetic, rooted in rhythm and lives in a slightly twisted gameshow-esque world. I can’t wait to get started with the dancers; I think we are going to have a blast bringing this work to life!”
Gill began training and performing at the age of three. While his primary focus through most of his artistic career has been in many styles of dance, his performance experience also includes playing trumpet, piano, musical theatre, and film. Straight out of high school, he began a distinguished career with Atlanta Ballet performing their varied classical ballet and contemporary repertoire. Over his 10 years there, he performed in works by renowned choreographers such as John McFall, Jorden Morris, Christopher Wheeldon, James Kudelka, Twyla Tharp, David Bintley, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Jorma Elo, Val Caniparoli, Helen Pickett, Liam Scarlett, Jiri Kylian, Alex Eckman, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Michael Pink, and Ohad Naharin. A few of his critically acclaimed roles include Mercutio in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, 1st Seminarian in David Bintley’s Carmina Burana, Kilroy in Helen Pickett’s Camino Real, and the Improv Soloist in Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16. Gill has been recognized for his dancing as one of ArtsATL’s “30 under 30” and Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch”. Through his many created works for Atlanta Ballet’s Wabi Sabi and as Resident Choreographer for Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, he has also become a prominent choreographer in Atlanta. Notable works for TMBT include LORE, Horizons, In the Fallout, and Marley Was Dead, To Begin With (recognized by ArtsATL as Atlanta’s Best Dance Production of 2020). Behind the scenes, Gill served as TMBT’s Production Director helping facilitate the bringing to life of each new Terminus performance or idea. Daily, Heath continues cultivating his athleticism, artistry, curiosity, and choreographic voice.
ABOUT ORLANDO BALLET
Founded in 1974, Orlando Ballet is Central Florida’s only fully residential professional ballet company. Orlando Ballet produces year-round main stage productions at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and Harriett’s Orlando Ballet Centre, featuring timeless masterpieces and innovative contemporary world premieres, achieving the highest level of professionalism and artistic excellence. Orlando Ballet promotes dance education through community enrichment programs, performance lecture demonstrations, the renowned Orlando Ballet School, and Orlando Ballet II, a second pre-professional company to train and support dancers as they approach the start of their dance careers. For information about Orlando Ballet, please visit our website at OrlandoBallet.org.
ABOUT TERMINUS
TMBT was founded in 2017 by five principal dance artists, formerly tenured at Atlanta Ballet, who struck out to create their own unique vision of dance. Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre is both a recognition of Atlanta’s founding name and the intersection at which new and creative beginnings are made. By bringing together the classical and contemporary dance forms and strengths of each of its principal artists, the company has become celebrated for the creation of daring and theatrical dance works. In 2018, Terminus Ballet School was founded to train the next generation of dance talent by combining the rigor of ballet with the creative and intuitive movement techniques of contemporary dance. For more information, visit http://www.terminusmbt.com/, follow us on Instagram @terminusmbt, or like us on Facebook at www.facebook/terminusmbt.
