Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Even in lighter works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after 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 role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation 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 remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous 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 created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, 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."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement 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 compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another ten years of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
