🔗 Share this article

Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."

Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.

The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings

How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active 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 good change."

Formative Drivers and Creative Influences

His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.

An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.

Intimate Performance and Private Partnership

He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "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 social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.

Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."