Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following 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 immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a reality 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 painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
