Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially 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."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," 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 tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove 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 recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually 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. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
