Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer 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 are not typically matched 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. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
