Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
