Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features 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 progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, 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 literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," 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 girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
