Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules 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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "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 principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "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."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
