Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just acting 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "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."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
