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 straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process while performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" 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 remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, 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 literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets 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 daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, 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 biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "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—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
