Ballet Luminary Matthew Ball on Demanding Parts and Social Media Scrutiny: 'I Don't Feel Protective About My Body'

Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Top

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty characters, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."

His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.

The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings

How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.

Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership

He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement 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 viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."