Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But 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. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith 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 are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing 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 hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
