In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, 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." "Breaking 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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "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 supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind 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 protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
