In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch 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. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions
What about 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 lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," 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 perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen 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 separate reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another ten years of performing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
