In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak 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 straight into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow during performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel 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 challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat 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 ways.
Ball characterizes his early 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 muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
