Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, 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."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors staging 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 person, and they’re sweating.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films 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 protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has another ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
