Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his mental workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate 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 thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response 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 explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
