Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, 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 multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
