Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role 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 remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined 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 Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
