In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense 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 negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "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 favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
