Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became 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 fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "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 seen on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
