Principal Dancer Harrison Ball to Give Final Performance With New York City Ballet This Spring

New York City Ballet Principal Dancer HARRISON BALL will give his final performance with New York City Ballet on Sunday, April 30, performing in George Balanchine's Haiff Divertimento and Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun.

A member of the Company since 2012, Ball plans to pursue a variety of new artistic projects following his final performance with New York City Ballet.

"On April 30th, my journey with New York City Ballet will come to an early end in a response to physical injuries that disable me from performing my duties as a dancer," said Ball. "Having the aptitude for dance, paired with the opportunity to hone my skill, has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Having a stage to share and explore that propensity for dance has been an even greater one. To be a guest in the house of Balanchine and his successors has brought me an enormous sense of purpose. The pure pleasure of being a vessel for the artistic heritage and choreographic genius of New York City Ballet is a delight only the dancers of this institution can truly know. To be one of a handful in history to experience what Mr. Balanchine created for our world will never fail to inform my life. I am forever indebted to New York City Ballet, my colleagues, mentors, directors, my partner, and my family for carrying me through this wildly extraordinary experience. I greatly look forward to toting the lessons and discipline of the dance into my pursuits in acting and choreography."

Ball was born in Houston, Texas, and began his dance training at the age of four at The Charleston Ballet Theatre in South Carolina. Ball began studying at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, during the 2007 summer course and enrolled as a full-time student the following fall. In 2011, Ball became an apprentice with NYCB, and in 2012 he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. He was promoted to soloist in 2017 and to Principal Dancer in 2022.

Since joining New York City Ballet, Ball has performed featured roles in a range of works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Mauro Bigonzetti, August Bournonville, William Forsythe, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Jamar Roberts, Troy Schumacher, and Christopher Wheeldon. In addition, he has originated roles in works by Kyle Abraham, Sidra Bell, Kim Brandstrup, Pontus Lidberg, Martins, Peck, Ratmansky, Gianna Reisen, and Wheeldon, among others.

In 2022, Ball was commissioned by New Jersey Ballet and made his choreographic debut with Purcell Suite, a ballet for 12 dancers set to Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.
Ball was the recipient of the 2013-14 Janice Levin Award, which is bestowed annually on a promising member of NYCB's corps de ballet. In 2011, Ball received the School of American Ballet's Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise.

Tickets for NYCB's 2022-23 season start at just $38 and are available at nycballet.com, by calling 212-496-0600, or at the David H. Koch Theater box office. For complete programming information for New York City Ballet's 2022-23 repertory season visit nycballet.com.