Within the quiet atmosphere 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 limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint 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 childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove 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, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level 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 are not 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. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
