In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat 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 early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic 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 protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
