Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense 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 pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors 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 realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos 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 states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
