Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, 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 as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "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 created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? 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—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
