Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle
Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's next starring appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings
What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."
Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations
His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation 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.
The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.
Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership
He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces 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 daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple 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 hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."
On Social Media and Physical Perception
On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
