Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active 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."
Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations
His determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove 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.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging 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 realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "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 favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He likely has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
