Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "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—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
