In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: 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 "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: '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 clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."