In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "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 cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
