In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in lighter works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. 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 wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal 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." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
