Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process during performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate 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 near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
