Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once 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 doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
