In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show 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 self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just pretending 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, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
