🔗 Share this article

Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.

"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."

His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions

What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Influences

Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Discovering 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 making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing 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 Dynamic

He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."

On Social Media and Bodily Image

On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.

Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."