Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
