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In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet frequently in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially 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."

Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings

How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, 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 Drivers and Artistic Influences

Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

The next endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic

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

Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level 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 are not usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care 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 states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.

Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."