Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
