In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"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" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel 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.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting 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, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t 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 admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "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—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
