Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and partnering. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his mental process while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading 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 dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, 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 literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "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."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
