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 straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, 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."
His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet 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 showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
