Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just acting 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "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 various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
