Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules 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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, 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 are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, 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 cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
