Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Ball.
Hi Ashley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been a maker and artist my whole life, but when it came to planning my future, I thought I should make a sensible decision and sideline art as a hobby and go into STEM. After graduating with a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, I found myself searching for jobs and having an absolutely horrible time of it. So to pull me out of the unemployed and broke blues, my partner bought me a dance video game, which got me moving, but also made me very overconfident in my dancing abilities. So much so that I auditioned for a movement role in a musical. Despite having no idea what auditioning for a role like this is “supposed” to look like and never having been in a play before, somehow I got it. Truth be told, I’m pretty sure they accepted everyone who auditioned, but let’s just stick with the narrative that I was just that good.
Now, Baltimore’s theater scene is awesome, but it somehow makes Smalltimore feel like EveryoneKnowsEveryoneAndTheirEx-imore. So unsurprisingly, a member of the performance art group, Fluid Movement, saw me in the show and asked me if I would consider dancing in an upcoming show of theirs, happening as a part of the Light City festival. I had gotten a job by this point, but I had also caught the theater bug, so obviously, I was all about it. At my first rehearsal with Fluid Movement, I was overwhelmed (some might even say “moved”, lol) by this community of artists and weirdos and just fun, sparkly people. I was hooked, and after that, I performed in every show they would let me in, including acting for the first time, roller skating, performing in parades, and of course, performing in their annual synchronized swimming shows, lovingly referred to as “the water ballet”.
The more I did with Fluid Movement, the quieter that voice of “you’re not a real artist” got, so much so that I felt confident enough to start directing, producing shows, and creating new programming for the organization. To date, I’ve performed in over 35 productions, directed at least 10 shows, and produced four water ballets as well as spearheading fundraisers, skill-share classes, and teaching synchronized swimming basics.
When Fluid Movement’s founder was ready to step down from the organization, I was all in and was appointed as Fluid Movement’s Artistic Director in 2022. Since then I’ve continued creating silly spectacles in Baltimore public spaces, bringing Fluid Movement’s patented spirit of sparkly, DIY costumes and props, campy performances, and a genuine love for the city of Baltimore. Along the way, I’ve also worked to create new opportunities for other artists/makers/performers to create extravagant extravaganzas and gain their confidence and artistic voice.
Fluid Movement is a performance art group, but at its heart, it’s a community, and I continue to show up in all ways that I can for that community because it is unique, special, and makes Baltimore feel like home.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the hardest balancing acts for me has been being in service to my community while also maintaining a professional and artistic life outside of the organization. I think a lot of nonprofit leaders can empathize with how easy it is to lose yourself in your organization’s mission, especially as it grows and more and more people come to rely on you.
Along the way, this silly joyous community I fell in love with became something that needed me to coordinate performers, volunteers, designers, technicians, logistics, and so many other balls in the air across multiple productions throughout the year. For our current production – coming to a pool near you this July and August 2026 – we have 89 swimmers and 7 land actors. That’s 96 people backstage! And that’s before we even factor in all the volunteers helping with tech, Front of House, photography, and wrangling soggy performers and their props.
Managing a cast of this size involves a lot of logistics, especially since we perform outside in public spaces, but honestly, the emotional labor is often the bigger challenge for me. People don’t just come to Fluid Movement to perform. They come looking for friendship, confidence, belonging, creative fulfillment, and sometimes simply a place where they can be weird and sparkly in public without judgment. A lot of people come into the organization carrying the same insecurities I had when I first joined, and over time I’ve realized that a huge part of my role is helping create an environment where people feel safe enough to take creative risks and grow.
Navigating that emotional complexity has been especially challenging for me personally as someone with autism. I try my best, but not everyone is understanding of neurodivergencies, especially when they bump up against traditional expectations of leadership and communication. Still, I work hard to keep Fluid Movement inclusive and accepting of people from all backgrounds and brain chemistries, including myself, as I continue growing into my role as a leader and steward of this special community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Fluid Movement is a performance art group with a unique brand of quirky, joyous, often ridiculous, and scrappy shows. We are most known for our water ballets, which have been happening in a Baltimore City public pool since 1999. A Fluid Movement water ballet is one part live theater, one part synchronized swimming (done primarily by enthusiastic amateurs), and one part community-driven enthusiasm. A water ballet – but really any Fluid Movement performance – is a truly unique experience. How many times do you get to see a theater show in and around a pool? Or a cast of nearly 100 people? And the cast is so sparkly, you’d think they’re all rolling around in rhinestones backstage?
There is something deeply joyful about seeing that many people come together to make something unique and celebratory and just plain fun. We accept swimmers from all backgrounds and ability levels. Many people that you’ll see in a water ballet have never been in a theater show before, so they are taking the plunge in front of at least 2,400 people over the course of two weekends, and they are doing it in a swimsuit. It’s chaotic and vulnerable and joyful in a way that’s hard to describe unless you’ve seen it.
Within Fluid Movement, I have been a performer, a script writer, a director, a producer, a prop maker, a set designer, a costume dabbler, a people wrangler, a spreadsheet maven, and too many other things to properly list. Outside of Fluid Movement, I’m still the kind of person who wants to jump in and try things out, whether that’s artistic mediums I’ve never tried, ones I’ve tried with very mixed results, or even volunteering for other nonprofits that make our city special. I’ve learned how to get comfortable with experimentation, imperfection, and being bad at something long enough to eventually get good at it.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I am a transplant that came to the city thinking it would just be a short pitstop, but I fell for Baltimore and I fell for it hard. Baltimore is a place that feels like an underdog, feels a bit scrappy, and feels willing to champion people that see its value. I’ve never been anywhere like it, and I can’t imagine leaving it.
One of the very best things about Baltimore is how enthusiastically strange the arts scene is. From a museum dedicated to self-taught artists (American Visionary Arts Museum) to a historic theater devoted to puppets (Black Cherry Puppet Theater) to iconic institutions of the arts all across the city, Baltimore is ready to embrace so many kinds of creativity.
And a lot of that culture exists because the city has invested in the arts scene. Everyone involved with Fluid Movement owes a great deal to the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks (BCRP). Fluid Movement could not exist without BCRP’s continued support, but what that organization does is so much more than facilitate pool access. The team at BCRP is filled with incredible people, doing life-saving and community-driven work that deserves all the accolades that we can give them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fluidmovement.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluidmovementbaltimore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FluidMovementWB/
