Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions 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 substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate 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 thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps 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 cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "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 characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
