Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and partnering. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental process during execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just acting 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
