Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental workflow while execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But 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. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, 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."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel 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 fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed 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, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
