Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering 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 loved tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement 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 explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
