🔗 Share this article

Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions

What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked 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 somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."

Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences

Ball's tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

The next challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "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 ideas from literature, music, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership

He also favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level 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 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 smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

On Social Media and Bodily Image

On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."