Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a reality 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 Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," 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 sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not 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 admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
