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Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely characters and partnering. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.

The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions

What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."

Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations

Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. 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 challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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 filled with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic

He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has made duets 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." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."

On Social Media and Physical Image

On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."