In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow during execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "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 later. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, 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 daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
