In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor 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 passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However 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 an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets 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 beneficial. "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 favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
