In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following 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 energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests 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 flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past 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 aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
