Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His tenacity originated in early 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 changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking 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 substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.
Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be 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 cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
