In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"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 "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental workflow while execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree 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." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
