In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely characters and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after 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 immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "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 tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. 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 endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "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 might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted form. 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 protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
