In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly 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."
Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.
The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, 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 positive change."
Early Motivations and Artistic Influences
His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.
Intimate Dance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "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 cheerleader."
Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image
On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind 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 compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.
Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
