In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty 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 as himself, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental process while performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling 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 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." "Breaking the conventions 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "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 partner, 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 daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
