Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"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 "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic 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 Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. 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 challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
