In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, 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 active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well 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 flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen 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 life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
