Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity 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 crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling 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."
Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions 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 making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller 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 realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined 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 Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
