Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually 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. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
