Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood passion 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 taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "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 doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering 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 making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, 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 meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "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 pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps 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 biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
