Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
His determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "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 substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
