Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, especially the emotional 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 next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel 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 endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? 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—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had 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."
