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In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling meaty 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 mental fatigue."

Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

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

Early Drivers and Creative Influences

Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to prove 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 recalls.

The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules 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 Dance and Personal Partnership

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

Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Image

On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."