Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t 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. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat 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—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
