In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental process during execution. Even in lighter works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a reality 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 books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
