In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "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 doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading 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 making his own choreography. For Ball, "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 aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
