Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced 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 troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering 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 making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just pretending 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "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 home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
