Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often in person 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 a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
