Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker 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 confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. 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 challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. 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 faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps 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 biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
