In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became 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 obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just acting 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 inspiration from books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level 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 usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
