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In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.

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

Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow during execution. Yet in lighter works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.

The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings

What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels 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 afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, 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 Drivers and Creative Inspirations

Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming challenge is creating 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.

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 close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."