In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and partnering. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets 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 audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
