In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
