Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process during execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."
Formative Drivers and Creative Influences
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was 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 obsessive," he recalls.
An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "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 social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
