Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height 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.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
His determination originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
