Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling 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 neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process while execution. Even in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
