Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was 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 obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "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 human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level 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 are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
