Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Even in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active 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."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality 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 books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
