Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate 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 recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith 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 is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
