In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow while performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, 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." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets 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 audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations 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 gentle with myself."
