Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological 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 starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in lighter works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests 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 changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care 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 states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
