Within the quiet ambiance 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 limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading 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. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. 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 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 typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet 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 photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind 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 compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
