Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is making 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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
