Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
Ball's upcoming starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate 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 challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.
Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership
He also favors presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually 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 supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. 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."
