Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly 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."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very 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 catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just pretending 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
