Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow while performance. Yet in lighter works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "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 wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
