In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank 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 featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove 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.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging 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 thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired 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. "But 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 dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
