Ballet Luminary Matthew Ball on Grueling Roles and Online Attention: 'I Don't Feel Protective About My Body'

In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions

What about following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations

Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules 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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.

Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic

He additionally favors staging dance in smaller 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 thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically 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 favorite supporter."

On Social Media and Bodily Perception

On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic 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 protective about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."