In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his mental workflow while execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, 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."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous 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 principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
