In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "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 duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
