In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved 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."
His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following 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 immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "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 stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests 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 obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting 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 inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created 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." They are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
