Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial 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 mental fatigue."
Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "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, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not 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 admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. 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 states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
