Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. 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 substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust 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 main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
