Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process while execution. Even in lighter works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However 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 thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But 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 negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "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 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 biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement 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 relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
