Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His determination originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation 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 fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, 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 audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be 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 biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind 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 explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
