Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic 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 instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "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 human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree 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 aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit 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 compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
