In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just acting 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 substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting 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 thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made 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 audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing 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 reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
