Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, 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 immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith 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 matched on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. 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 precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
