In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely roles and partnering. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental workflow while performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
