Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate 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.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules 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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces 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 usually 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 admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "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 decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
