Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"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 "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow during performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," 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 principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
