Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed 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 relished taking on substantial characters, particularly 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."
Ball's next featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions 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 recalls.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "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 girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "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 favorite supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "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 multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
