Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be 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 biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
