Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, 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 mental process while performance. Even in lighter works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
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 immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust 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 typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps 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 favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
