🔗 Share this article

Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful 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. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."

His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions

How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.

The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.

Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership

He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually 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 admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, 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 various levels.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."