In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic characters 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 Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game 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 immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once 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 kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading 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 choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality 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 literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious 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 determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
