In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "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 afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets 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 daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."