Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. 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 Post-Performance Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree 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 home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, 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 multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
