In the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil 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 as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive 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 Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
His determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became 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 endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "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 human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level 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." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
