Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after 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 character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? 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—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
