In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent 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 promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer 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 neural fatigue."
His next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process while performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic 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 Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests 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 changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal 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 usually paired 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 notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
