Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely 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 Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
