In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process while performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, 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 immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," 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 Influences
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets 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 was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "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 Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
