Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process while performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often 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 observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel 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 fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, 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 describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
