Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process while performance. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate 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.
An upcoming endeavor 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 inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
