In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental process while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was 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 obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually 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."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
