Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate 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 human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? 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 various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
