Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a show, 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 immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate 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.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "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 human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
