In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched 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. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."