Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just pretending 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, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "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 partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
