Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past 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 made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps 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 biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
