Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "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."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind 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 explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
