In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, 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'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. 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 endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "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 inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," 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 sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
