🔗 Share this article

Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the psychological turmoil 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" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker 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 confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove 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 remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.

Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership

He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, 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 favorite supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.

Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He likely has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."