Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after 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 role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in presenting 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 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 matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
