Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
