Harrison Ball has lived multiple creative lives in his 31 years. He’s a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, an emerging actor who made his film debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, a choreographer creating bold new works, and the husband of fashion icon Zac Posen.
What makes Ball’s story particularly compelling is his willingness to start over at 30, trading the security of being a principal dancer at one of the world’s most prestigious ballet companies for the uncertainty of acting, writing, and choreography. After retiring from ballet in April 2023 due to persistent injuries, he hasn’t slowed down. He’s building a multidisciplinary career that includes his acting debut in the experimental short film Catharsis, choreographing for New Jersey Ballet, and writing a memoir about the darker sides of ballet life that few dare to discuss openly.
Biography
Harrison Ball was born into the family of Kevin Allen Ball, Richmond, and Vera Kockler Ball on April 12, 1993, in Houston, Texas. His father owned a stucco factory in Texas, whilst his mother would become one of his fiercest supporters as his ballet talent emerged. The family relocated to South Carolina when Harrison was young, and it’s there that his dance journey began at just four years old at The Charleston Ballet Theatre.
His talent wasn’t immediately apparent to everyone. When his mother enrolled him in karate classes alongside his older brothers, young Harrison famously told his karate instructor he couldn’t kick through wood because his ballet teacher, “Mrs Cantwell would not allow it. He was already protecting his feet for dance. By age 12, he’d begun professional-level training with choreographer Wilhelm “Willy” Burmann in Charleston, and his path was clear.
At 13, Ball decided to move to New York City alone to pursue ballet at the highest level. Living independently in a Brooklyn Heights apartment at 14 (with his parents helping with rent), he attended Professional Children’s School near Lincoln Centre whilst training full-time at the School of American Ballet starting in autumn 2007. It’s a setup that could’ve gone disastrously wrong. Ball has been candid about struggling with addiction “for a really long time” during these formative years in New York, a subject he plans to address in his forthcoming memoir. As he’s put it: “It could have gone really bad, and it did for a while, and then I got through it.”
Career
Ball’s career moved steadily upward despite the personal challenges. He became an apprentice with the New York City Ballet in 2011, the same year he received the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise, which included a $10,000 prize. He officially joined the corps de ballet in July 2012, marking the beginning of what would become a distinguished 12-year career with one of the world’s premier ballet companies.
Recognition came regularly. He was named the Janice Levin Award honoree in 2013-14, an accolade bestowed annually on a promising corps member. In 2015, he was nominated for the Clive Barnes Foundation Award. His promotion to soloist came in February 2017, and after five years of performing featured roles, he was elevated to principal dancer in February 2022, reaching one of ballet’s most prestigious positions.
During his tenure at NYCB, Ball performed in works by ballet’s greatest choreographers. He danced George Balanchine’s Episodes, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He performed Jerome Robbins’ Andantino, Dances at a Gathering, Interplay, and Afternoon of a Faun. He also worked with contemporary choreographers like Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Kyle Abraham, and Justin Peck, originating roles in Kyle Abraham’s Love Letter (on shuffle) and Sidra Bell’s SUSPENDED ANIMATION. Critics consistently praised his long legs, arched feet, and exceptional jumping ability, physical attributes that made him ideal for Balanchine’s demanding neoclassical repertoire.
But the physical demands took their toll. Ball broke both feet at various points, requiring a wheelchair temporarily, and he managed chronic pain throughout his performing years. In early 2023, what seemed like a simple stubbed toe turned out to be hairline fractures. Subsequent MRI scans showed extensive damage accumulated over years of professional dancing.
Rather than face another year-long rehabilitation cycle, Ball made the difficult decision to retire at age 30. His final performance on April 30, 2023, featured Balanchine’s Haieff Divertimento and Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun, a poignant conclusion to his ballet career.
Ball had already been preparing for this transition, training as an actor for about a year before leaving NYCB. He took classes and obtained his SAG-AFTRA card after playing “Harrison the Butler” alongside Christine Baranski. Just four months after his final ballet performance, he made his acting debut in Catharsis, a 17-minute surrealist short film that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 14, 2024.
In Catharsis, Ball served as lead actor, co-writer with director Brian Logvinsky, and executive producer. The neo-noir psychological drama, described as a “post-Soviet fever dream,” features an impressive cast including Debbie Harry of Blondie fame, Jemima Kirke, Marc Geller from Severance, and Russian supermodel Sasha Pivovarova. Ball plays Alex, a troubled dancer confronting the shadows of his subconscious, a role that clearly drew from his own career transition. The film’s experimental nature reflects Ball’s artistic ambitions beyond commercial projects.
Parallel to his acting career, Ball has established himself as a choreographer. His debut work, Purcell Suite (2022-2023), was commissioned by New Jersey Ballet, a 12-dancer piece set to Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” with costumes designed by his husband, Zac Posen. His second commission, New Ancient Springs, premiered on April 24, 2024, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre. The 30-minute work for 19 dancers is set to music by Malian musicians Toumani Diabate and Ballaké Sissoko, featuring the West African kora. A third commission is scheduled to premiere in April 2025, demonstrating the company’s continued investment in his choreographic vision.
Ball is also writing a memoir focused on what he calls “taboos in the dance world,” including his struggles with addiction and the challenges of living independently in New York from age 14. He’s represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and Untitled Entertainment, positioning him for continued growth in film and television.
Personal Life
Ball’s relationship with fashion designer Zac Posen became public in April 2021, when Posen posted a photo of Ball on his birthday during a road trip through the American Southwest, noting they’d travelled “3,500-plus miles on the road, nine states.” The couple announced their engagement on August 8, 2022, with both posting to Instagram. Ball shared photos at Twin Arrows, Arizona, with the caption “💍🤵🏼♂️🤵🏻♂️ GETTING HITCHED – CUPIDS ARROW(S) 💘.” The announcement drew congratulations from celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Nina Dobrev, Heidi Klum, Christina Hendricks, and Iman.
Their exact wedding date remains private. Posen, who closed his eponymous fashion house in 2019 and was appointed Gap Inc. Creative Director and Old Navy Chief Creative Officer in February 2024, has designed costumes for multiple Ball projects, including his choreographic works and the film Catharsis.
The couple lives bicoastally between San Francisco and New York City with their three mini poodles named Tsuki, Bizet, and Rudi, whom Ball describes as “an extension of me.”
