Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process while performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling 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 "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past 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 pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects 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 work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
