In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With 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 experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow while performance. Yet in lighter works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also 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 lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
