Travis D. Gatling was born and raised in Chesapeake, VA. He holds a BA in English/Liberal Arts from Norfolk State University in Virginia and an MFA in Dance Performance from Ohio State University. He is currently in his 27th year as a Professor and Interim Director for the School of Dance at Ohio University, where he teaches Modern, Jazz, and Ballet techniques, Dance Repertory, and Black Dance Forms.

He has performed throughout the US and abroad in choreography by renowned choreographers such as Donald McKayle, Merce Cunningham, Ronald K. Brown, and others. One of his career highlights was the premiere of “My Brother’s Keeper,” a solo performance of dances choreographed by African American men.

His teaching and choreography credits include Factory Street Studio in Athens, OH, the Avondale High School of Performing Arts, Cherokee Ballet Theatre, Georgia State University, Emory University in Georgia, Urban Souls Dance Co. in TX, and the Morton Street Dance Center in MD. He was recently commissioned to create a new collaborative work entitled En.Tranced for Full Circle Dance Co. and the Ballet Theater of Maryland. After its premiere at the Gordon Center in October 2023, the work was invited to be performed at the Peabody Dance Festival on February 25, 2024.

Travis is a member of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD) and is currently serving as President of the Norfolk State University Dance Theatre Alumni Chapter.