In the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting 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 ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, 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 favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."