Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, 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 lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes 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 probably has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
