🔗 Share this article

Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.

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

Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow while performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.

The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings

What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."

Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations

Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 ideas from books, compositions, and painting.

Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic

He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On social media, fans 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 particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.

Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."