In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on 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 neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process while execution. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
His determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions 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 recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
