Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just acting 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree 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 beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
