Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "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 substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate 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 made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "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 supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
