Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process during performance. Yet in lighter works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "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 wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "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 pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t 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 admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
