In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly 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 aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once 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 kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading 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, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal 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 matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object 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 thing to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He likely has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
