Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental process while execution. Even in more comedic works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, 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 role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. 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 "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 ideas from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually 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. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, 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 various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
