In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological 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 appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But 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 afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel 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 challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
