Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense 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 negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules 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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
