Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental process while execution. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
