Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil 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 role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels 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 later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation 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 recalls.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "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—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
