In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological 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 role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, 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 lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" 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, "organic movement has value." "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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
