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 upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty 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."
Ball's upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming 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 more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate 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.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
