In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil 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 featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following 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." 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 negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith 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 usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic 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 precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has about decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
