Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on 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 neural fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental process during execution. Even in lighter works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, 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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," 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 sweating.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith 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 home company, which is perhaps healthy. "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."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind 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 precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
