Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was 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 recalls.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality 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, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple 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 biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
