Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. 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 a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree 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 is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. 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 states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
