Originally from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Gillmer Duran began dancing Venezuelan folk dances and continued his formal ballet training at age 21 at the Fundación Arte Nuevo. He danced professionally with Ballet Metropolitano, Ballet Nuevo Mundo, National Ballet of Caracas, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, and eight consecutive seasons with Eugene Ballet Company. He worked with choreographers such as Vicente Nebrada, Nicolo Fonte, Robert Battle, Mauricio Wainrott, Edwaard Liang, Jessica Lang and Toni Pimble, among others.
His versatility and intuition allowed him to perform a variety of classical, neoclassical and contemporary roles. In June of 2010, he began teaching ballet as a way to inspire the new generations of dancers and to share his passion for dance. In October of 2010, he was appointed as Alaska Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer. In 2011, Duran received the Fermin Toro University Award for his career and continued to teach ballet in the east coast. He has taught master classes for several schools and has created choreography for Eugene Ballet, Alaska Dance Theatre, Ballet Des Moines, and Northwest Arkansas Ballet Theatre.
In July of 2023 he obtained his Bachelor in Fine Arts from Saint Mary’s College of California. He is currently a full-time faculty at the School of Ballet Arizona and this is his fifth-year teaching at the Arizona School for the Arts.
