Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "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 an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" 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 remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just pretending 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 books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
