Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove 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 endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just acting 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps 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 supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
