Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat 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 early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
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 resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
