Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up 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 advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, 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 upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests 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 changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just pretending 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
