Dilshani Weerasinghe will leave Queensland Ballet on 13 November after almost 16 years with the company, with Artistic Director Ivan Gil-Ortega taking on interim executive responsibility while the Board settles its leadership arrangements for 2027.
Weerasinghe, who joined in 2011 and became Executive Director in 2015, has been a central figure through a period of substantial expansion and, more recently, financial and organisational challenges. Her departure will bring the company’s artistic and executive leadership together under Gil-Ortega, whose interim title will be Artistic Director and CEO.
In a Board-approved statement, Queensland Ballet described the transition as mutually agreed following discussions with Weerasinghe. The Board said it had spent the past two years reviewing the organisation’s structure as part of its Transformation Strategy, including a review of between three and six months undertaken with an external consultant.
The permanent executive arrangements remain to be determined. For now, Gil-Ortega will assume responsibility for taking that strategy forward alongside his artistic role.
He joined Queensland Ballet in February 2025, following Leanne Benjamin’s departure in 2024 and a period under Acting Artistic Director Greg Horsman. At the time of his appointment, the Board identified financial sustainability, audience relevance and support for the company’s dancers and Academy as priorities.
Those concerns remain central to the Board’s account of the current transition. Asked whether financial challenges were the reason for Weerasinghe’s departure, it pointed to the company’s recovery strategy and acknowledged her contribution.
“Our 2025 financial results demonstrate we are in a turnaround and 2026 will further reinforce this,” the Board said.
It credited Weerasinghe with contributing to that turnaround over the past two years. Its response did not identify financial performance as the reason for her departure.
Weerasinghe’s tenure spans much of Queensland Ballet’s recent development beyond its mainstage performances. In announcing her departure, the company recognised her contribution to the expansion of its ensemble, the growth of its Academy, the establishment of its Community Health Institute and the redevelopment of the Thomas Dixon Centre.
Two major infrastructure projects were completed during her executive directorship: the Academy’s Kelvin Grove facility opened in 2020, and the redeveloped Thomas Dixon Centre reopened in 2022. Together, they expanded the company’s capacity for training, performance and community activity.
In her own farewell on LinkedIn, Weerasinghe reflected on advocacy for Queensland artists, investment in the Academy and Jette Parker Young Artists, and the development of regional, health and education programs.
“I leave with a heart half-broken, but overflowing with gratitude,” she wrote.
Her account also acknowledged the demands of the role, describing “impossible challenges” alongside its achievements. She placed those experiences within a broader responsibility to the institution: “None of us owns the institutions we are privileged to lead, serve or shape.”
Queensland Ballet’s announcement wished her success with Shiny Eyes Advisory. Weerasinghe said she was open to new opportunities drawing on her experience in leadership, transformation and partnerships.