In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow while performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near 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 principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically 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 notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, 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 describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
