In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process while execution. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels 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, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind 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 negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending 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 ideas from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
