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In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely roles and partnering. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty characters, particularly the emotional angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

His upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

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

Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."

Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations

Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.

The next challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just acting 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.

Close-Up Performance and Private Partnership

He also is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, 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 Perception

On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple ways.

Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he reflects. He likely has about decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."