In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental process while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
