Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his mental process while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role 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 "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level 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 are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "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 biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
