In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "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."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind 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 relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
