Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation 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 fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
