In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active 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 catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
His determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate 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 thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, 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 levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
