Within the quiet 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 defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. 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 protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
