In the quiet 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 muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his mental process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling 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 fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
