In the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured 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 cognitive process while execution. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became 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 recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "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 human, 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 daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
