In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination 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 flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal 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 was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched 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. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement 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 relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
