In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Yet in lighter works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "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 later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, 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 energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading 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 endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined 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 Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit 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 relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
