Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan'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 aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental workflow while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules 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, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past 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 created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
