Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. 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 substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous 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 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 was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t 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 admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
