In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, 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 lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
His determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate 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.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust 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 are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, 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 Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing 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 hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
