Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing 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 crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in lighter works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering 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 thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets 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 daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
