Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised 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 advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," 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. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove 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 remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just pretending 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
