In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
