Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental process while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "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: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic 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 positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer 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 was like Dirty Dancing." They 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 cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. 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 protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
