Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 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. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional 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 role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process while performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, 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."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation 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 obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," 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 sweating.'"
Ball has made 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 daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
