Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 inspiration from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "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 perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree 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." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares 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 reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
