In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's 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 self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering 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." "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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps 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 favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
