In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a reality 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 books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit 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—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
