Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. With delicate 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 progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust 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 matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "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 favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
