In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just acting 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous 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 made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired 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."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
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 reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
