In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty 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 mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process during execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: '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 tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
