Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
His determination originated in early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "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 substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "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 human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made 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 are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
