In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, demonstrating his mental process while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a show, 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 immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting 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 books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate 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 thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
