Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow during performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering 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, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces 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 daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
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 engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, 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 various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of performing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
