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Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and partnering. Possessing fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

His next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules is compelling, 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.

Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic

He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Perception

On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? 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—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."