Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial 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."
His next featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a show, 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 character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? 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 interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
