In the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing 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 crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial 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 neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel 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 character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 inspiration from books, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement 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 explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
