Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental process during execution. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is interesting, 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," 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. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate 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 muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
