In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal 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 usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
