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Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

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

His next featured role is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions

How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.

Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership

He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps 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 Image

On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."