In the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and partnering. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation 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 obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 literature, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
