Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous 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 created pieces with his partner, fellow principal 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." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
