🔗 Share this article

Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."

His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.

The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings

How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Early Motivations and Creative Influences

His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel 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 fanatical," he remembers.

The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, 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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.

Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership

He additionally is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "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 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 audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."