Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, 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 immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously 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."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. 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 level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, 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 objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
