Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental process during execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance 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 person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit 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 multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
