Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental workflow while performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel following a show, 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 immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations
Ball's tenacity originated in early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Reading 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 dance works. For Ball, "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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer 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 aren’t usually 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. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "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—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
