Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Even in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "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 wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer 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." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
