In 1968, Poll formed Chamber Ballet, a student company at the University of Akron. The company was later renamed Ohio Chamber Ballet and eventually Ohio Ballet. With lighting designer Thomas Skelton, his life partner, Poll raised the company's profile, touring around the world and establishing seasons in Cleveland and Akron.

According to the Plain Dealer, Ohio Ballet was known under Poll's leadership for its "clarity, precision, lean look, and distinctive style." He created more than 60 ballets before retiring in 1999.

After his retirement, Poll distanced himself from the company, which has struggled financially. In 2002, according to the Akron Beacon-Journal, he told his successor, Jeffrey Graham Hughes, to remove him from the company's printed materials. "It's not the kind of company I would have wanted to have," he told the paper at the time. "It clashes totally with my personal aesthetics."