In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, 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 starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow while performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just pretending 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," 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 pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "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 favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
