Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following 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 role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove 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.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their home company, 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 favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
