Sarah Hillmer - ImmerseATL Founder & Director
photo © Daylilies Photography
Sarah Hillmer has more than 20 years of experience in the professional dance field as a dancer, rehearsal director, assistant to choreographers, stager, educator, creator and arts administrator. Her company credits include the Atlanta Ballet, glo - as a founding member, and staibdance.
Sarah served as a Rehearsal Director at the Atlanta Ballet from 2013-2019 where artistic relationships with choreographers Twyla Tharp and Helen Pickett were forged. She has staged Twyla Tharp’s work at Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Atlanta Ballet, and her work as a stager and assistant to Helen Pickett has taken her to Alberta Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Scottish Ballet, Smuin Ballet, UArts and UNCSA.
Sarah is the Founder & Director of ImmerseATL, a training and mentorship program supporting dancers at pivotal stages in their ever-evolving journey as artists through its Artist Program and ImmerseATL Collective.
As a choreographer, Sarah has been commissioned to create work for Atlanta Ballet’s Wabi Sabi, Backside of the Tent Productions, Emory Dance Company and Admix Project. She has also collaborated with George Staib on fence (2019), funded in part by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, and Dido & Aeneas (2023), a collaboration with the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra.
As an arts administrator, Sarah serves as Executive Director of staibdance, where she has spent the past seven years leading and managing the company’s artistic, educational, and touring activities. During her tenure, she has overseen seven national tours, three world premieres, annual workshops, the company’s two-week summer intensive in Sorrento, Italy, and (MC)², Atlanta’s first multicultural dance festival. She has also guided the development of a docuseries and podcast series, Secret Architecture: The Process of Process.
From 2024–2026, Sarah also served as Business Operations Manager for Windmill Arts, an organization dedicated to the advancement and presentation of new work in the arts.