In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "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, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
