Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental workflow during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" 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 fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces 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." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
