Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
A Seamless Ascent to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Even in lighter works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings
How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Artistic Influences
His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove 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.
The next endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking 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 inspiration from literature, music, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic
He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps 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 cheerleader."
On Social Media and Bodily Perception
On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic form. 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
