Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"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 "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental process while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, 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 ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree 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 aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted form. 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 precious about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
