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In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

His next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow while execution. Even in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "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."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Private Partnership

He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. 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 lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."