Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and piercing 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 little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
His determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
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 audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, 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 biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
