Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan'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 "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful 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 flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is interesting, 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 loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, 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 ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
