In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional 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 role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in lighter works, 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 Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice 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 prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal 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 was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
