In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
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 focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
