Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However 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 Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic
He additionally is interested in presenting 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 human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement 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 various levels.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
