Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process while performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind 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 doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" 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 rules 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat 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—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
