Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, 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." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just pretending 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically 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 notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
