Today we’d like to introduce you to Glenn Ball.
Hi Glenn, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My dad was a DJ, so music was always playing in our house, and apparently, I never stopped dancing! Eventually, my parents decided that rather than letting me wear out all the carpets, they should probably send me to dance school. And that’s where it all began!
Things moved pretty quickly from there. I ended up attending a full time performing arts school in Central London before launching into a professional career as a dancer, spending over a decade performing alongside artists including Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, and Mariah Carey. I even had a brief stint in a pop group myself, releasing three singles!
Alongside all of that, I’d always had a huge love for partner dancing, particularly swing. When an opportunity came up to move to the US, partner with a professional dancer, and compete on one of the biggest stages in the world, the US Open Swing Dance Championships, it was a challenge I couldn’t turn down. So I packed up my life in London and jumped in headfirst!
Much like my early dance career, things snowballed. I became the first Englishman to reach the podium at the US Open and went on to become the first to win the Showcase division a few years later.
I’ve since made Austin my home, and it’s been an incredible new chapter. Alongside performing, teaching, and choreographing, I’ve launched an entertainment company here in Austin, providing everything from dancers and specialty performers to full-scale entertainment experiences for events.
And now, one of my most exciting projects yet is on the horizon. I’ve spent the last several years writing and developing an original theatrical dance production, which we’re currently planning to premiere in spring 2027. It’s a huge creative undertaking and something I’m incredibly excited to bring to life!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think moving countries is ever going to be completely smooth! Selling properties, navigating two different tax systems, visas, and all the boring adult stuff isn’t particularly glamorous, but it’s certainly been a learning curve!
Creatively, I think being a professional dancer comes with its own unique set of challenges. Injuries, physical health, body image, and the constant pressure to perform at your best are all things you have to navigate throughout your career.
But I think my biggest challenge these days is actually juggling the different paths I’m pursuing. I’m a swing dancer travelling the world teaching and competing, a business owner running an entertainment company and employing other performers, and now a creator trying to get an original stage production off the ground.
All three require completely different mindsets, and all three could easily be full-time jobs! Sometimes the hardest part isn’t the work itself, but deciding where to put your energy, what opportunities to say no to, and trusting that you’re making the right decisions.
I’ve learned that there’s rarely a perfect balance, and sometimes you just have to back yourself, make a decision, and see where it takes you. That’s pretty much how I ended up in America in the first place!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think what’s quite unusual about my career is just how many different worlds of entertainment I’ve been lucky enough to be part of.
I’ve worked as a professional backing dancer for some of the biggest names in music, modelled, choreographed fashion shows and catwalks, been part of a pop group that released three Top 20 singles, and then somehow found myself competing at the very highest level of professional partner dancing!
They’re all such different industries, with different expectations, creative processes, and ways of working. And I think that’s actually become one of my biggest strengths.
I’ve always been a bit of a watcher. I’m constantly observing and analysing everything happening around me. How a show is put together, why something works, why something doesn’t, how audiences react, how people manage productions. I’m sure it’s been incredibly annoying for the people around me over the years! Haha.
But looking back, I think that curiosity has served me incredibly well. I’ve essentially spent my entire career collecting ideas, experiences, and knowledge from completely different areas of entertainment.
These days, whether I’m choreographing a show, creating an experience for a corporate client, teaching dancers, or developing my own theatrical production, I find myself drawing on all those different worlds.
I’m incredibly proud of my competitive achievements and also choreographing in the commercial dance world at such a young age but, I would say, at the moment I’m extremely proud to have got my stage show to the point it’s at!
It’s early stages but I’m making myself celebrate the first stages of it.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Oh, absolutely! There are so many people who have helped me along the way, but my family has always been my biggest support system.
My wife, Susan, is a huge part of everything I do. Having someone who’s also a professional dancer means I have a built-in creative partner who’s always there to try out choreography, bounce around ideas, or listen to me talk endlessly about the latest version of my stage show! She’s also been an enormous help navigating all those less glamorous parts of life, particularly the complicated logistics of moving countries and building a life here in the US.
And then there’s my mum and dad, who really made this whole career possible in the first place. When I was younger, they spent countless hours driving me to dance lessons, rehearsals, and competitions. And it wasn’t just driving! They were flying me around the world to compete, long before any of us knew where dancing might take me. Looking back, the amount of time, money, and energy they invested in giving me those opportunities is pretty incredible.
My mum is also still very much involved! When I first started writing my stage show, she became my unofficial spelling and grammar checker. Although, with me now living in America, we’ve discovered that British and American English don’t always agree, which has caused a few entertaining disagreements!
I feel incredibly lucky to have people around me who have supported all my crazy ideas, even when I’m not entirely sure where they’re going myself!
Pricing:
- If anyone’s interested in learning to dance, I still teach here in Austin, Texas (when I’m actually in town!). I’d love to work with you, and if I’m not available, I’m always happy to connect you with one of the many incredible teachers we have here in Austin. Dancing is such an amazing thing to have in your life, and I genuinely believe everyone should give it a go!
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.glennballcreative.com www.haveaball.dance
- Instagram: Glennball7
