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Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, especially the emotional turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

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

His next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions

How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."

Formative Motivations and Creative Inspirations

His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" 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 obsessive," he remembers.

The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just pretending 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 filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.

Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic

He also favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "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 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 first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

On Social Media and Bodily Perception

On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."