Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, particularly 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 next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental process while execution. Yet in lighter works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal 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." The couple 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. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."