Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, 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."
Ball's next starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made 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 daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be 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 favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
