In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil 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 as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired 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. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
