In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental process during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing 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 literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer 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." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
