Paul Gibson serves as Artistic Director of the Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania, bringing decades of elite professional experience to his leadership role. A native of Altoona, Pennsylvania, Gibson discovered ballet at the Allegheny Ballet Academy before expanding his training through summer programs at the School of American Ballet in New York. His talent earned him a scholarship to San Francisco Ballet School, and he joined that company in 1988, eventually rising to the rank of Soloist over a six-year tenure that introduced him to a wide-ranging repertoire — from Russian classics to the boundary-pushing works of Mark Morris, William Forsythe, and Jiri Kylian.
In 1994, Gibson joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a Soloist, earning a mid-season promotion to Principal Dancer in 1996. His years at PNB were defined by acclaimed performances across the Balanchine canon — including Agon, Chaconne, and Mozartiana — as well as contemporary works by choreographers such as Nacho Duato, Paul Taylor, and Lynne Taylor-Corbett. A career highlight came in April 1997, when he performed Val Caniparolli’s Lambarena at the prestigious Benois Prize gala in Warsaw, Poland.
Gibson retired from performing in June 2004 and was immediately appointed Ballet Master at PNB. His choreographic voice quickly emerged: his ballet The Piano Dance (2005) received the Choo San Goh Award for Choreography, and Rush (2002) led to an invitation from the New York Choreographic Institute. He has created world premieres and original works for PNB, San Francisco Ballet School, and the Allegheny Ballet Company.
