Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, demonstrating his mental workflow during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. 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 choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? 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—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
