Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental workflow during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became 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 obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, 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." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, 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 biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "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—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
