Ballet Star Matthew Ball on Grueling Roles and Social Media Attention: 'I'm Not Protective About My Body'

Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions

What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very 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 catalyst for positive change."

Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations

Ball's determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and painting.

Close-Up Dance and Personal Dynamic

He additionally favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like 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 notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

On Social Media and Bodily Perception

On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.

Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."