Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His determination originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith 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 usually paired 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 biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
