In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests 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. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a thing 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 books, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
