In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects 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 relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
