Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar 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 white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role 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 part, showing his mental process during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "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—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
