In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick 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 dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" 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 challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just acting 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 substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "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 duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer 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." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
