Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental 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 juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous 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 lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares 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 lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
