In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and partnering. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" 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." "Breaking the rules 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 inspiration from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level 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 aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, 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 various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
