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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 posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

Ball's next featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.

The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions

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

Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.

An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic

He additionally favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t 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 cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.

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