In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental process during execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
