Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution 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 meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following 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 once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just acting 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
