Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, 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 works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring role 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 part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making 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 thing 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 books, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They 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 notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, 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 life is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
