Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze 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 like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
