Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process while execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, 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 substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like 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 smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
