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Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Top

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.

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

His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process while execution. Even in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings

What about after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations

Ball's determination originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic

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

Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."