Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But 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 later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
