Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, 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 featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, 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 role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense 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 doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
