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Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

Ball's next featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental workflow during execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he states.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."

Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" It was 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 recalls.

The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions 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, music, and art.

Intimate Dance and Private Partnership

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

Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception

On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."