Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in lighter works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
His determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
