In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental process while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed 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 previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" 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." "Breaking the conventions 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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
