🔗 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 limbs defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

His next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.

The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions

What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic 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 catalyst for good change."

Formative Motivations and Artistic Influences

Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.

An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.

Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership

He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has made duets 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.

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