In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
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 viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal 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." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
