Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological 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 next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests 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 flipped a switch, 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." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
