Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests 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 obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer 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 aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "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 biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
