In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental process during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was 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 obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually 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 notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
