Within 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 simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in lighter works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
His determination originated in 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 "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules 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 inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
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 daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest 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 use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
