In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic characters and partnering. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."
Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences
Ball's determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "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 art.
Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer 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." They are not typically paired 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 biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
