In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on 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 starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process while performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "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, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
His determination originated in early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.
An upcoming challenge is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, 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 art.
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 previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a child," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
