In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, 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 embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker 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 negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close 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 principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be 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 favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "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 interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
