Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge 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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous 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 partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger 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 dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
