In the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"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" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process while performance. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. 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 endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
