In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, 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 princely characters and partnering. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "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 biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement 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 compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
