In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase 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 relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
