In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. 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 "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "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 main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met 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 likely has about ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
