Dance Star Matthew Ball on Demanding Parts and Social Media Attention: 'I'm Not Protective About My Body'

In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Top

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

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

His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions

How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."

Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just acting 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership

He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near 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 principal Mayara Magri. The level of faith 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 aren’t typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."

On Social Media and Bodily Image

On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted form. 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 protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."