Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal 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 highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost 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. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Discovering 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, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules 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 ideas from books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces 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 audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "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 biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations 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 kind with myself."
