Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental process while performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
