Within the quiet atmosphere 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 arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch 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. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "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 favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
