Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, 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 favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
