In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process while performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became 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 making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually 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 biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? 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 levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met 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 another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
