Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "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 says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? 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—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
