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 arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"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 aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "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 afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind 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 instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, 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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. 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 level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, 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."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
