Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, 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 immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind 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 negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith 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 usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
