Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological 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 next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental process while execution. Even in lighter works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted 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 seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
