In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once 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 reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove 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.
An upcoming endeavor 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 aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."