In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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 inspiration from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps 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 biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
