In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial 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."
Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. 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 choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
