Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "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 later. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. 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 challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring 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 hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be a bit 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
