In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels 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: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules 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 wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level 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." They are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
