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Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

His upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow while performance. Even in lighter works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations

His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.

The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.

Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic

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

Ball has created duets 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 resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."

Regarding Instagram and Physical Image

On Instagram, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.

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