In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes 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 aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
