Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental process during execution. Yet in lighter works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
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 immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation 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 endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just acting 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, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close 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 first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing 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 expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
