In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, 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 perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense 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 negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces 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 audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
