Gil Roman was trained by Marika Besobrasova, Rosella Hightower and José Ferran before joining Maurice Béjart’s Ballet du XXe Siècle in 1979. He went on to spend nearly three decades with Béjart, performing many of the choreographer’s most significant works and becoming one of the key interpreters of his repertory. In 2007, Maurice Béjart named him his successor as Artistic Director of Béjart Ballet Lausanne, a role through which he carried forward one of the most distinctive artistic legacies in European dance.

Alongside his long performing career, he developed an extensive choreographic practice. Since the mid 1990s, he has created numerous works, including L’habit ne fait pas le moine, Casino des esprits, Anima Blues, Kyodaï, Tous les hommes presque toujours s’imaginent, Basso Continuum and Alors on danse… ! His work has been presented internationally, including major festival and opera platforms, and reflects a choreographic voice shaped by musicality, theatricality and the deep influence of the Béjart tradition.

His career represents more than four decades of uninterrupted contribution to dance as performer, choreographer and leader. Even after stepping down as Artistic Director of Béjart Ballet Lausanne, he has continued to appear internationally, including at the World Ballet Festival in Tokyo, and to remount Maurice Béjart’s works for companies such as Tokyo Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet as an external consultant for the Maurice Béjart Foundation.

Prizes/Awards:
Danza and Danza Award for Best Dancer
Nijinsky Award
Prix du Rayonnement
Special Prize of the Shanghai Arts Festival
Maya Plisetskaya Prize
Knight of the National Order of Merit
Cantonal Merit of the Canton de Vaud