Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and partnering. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic 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 positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering 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 dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules 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 aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response 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 relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
