Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer'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 "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. 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 challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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 substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," 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 beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted form. 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 protective about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
