In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
