Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Even in lighter works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched 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 favorite cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he care 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 relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
