Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial 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."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer 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 was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "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 interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
