Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering 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 loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next starring appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, 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 good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was 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 obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just pretending 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "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 cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
