Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process while performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze 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 thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
