Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. 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 hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
