In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed 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 Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
