Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level 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." They are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
