Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental process during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
