Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial 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 mental fatigue."
His next starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, demonstrating his mental process during execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering 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 endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, 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 art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust 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 matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects 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 protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
