In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow during performance. Even in lighter works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very 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 positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
His tenacity originated in early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
