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In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a simple tee. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Top

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow during execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental 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 lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."

Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His tenacity originated in early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.

An upcoming challenge is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.

Close-Up Performance and Personal Partnership

He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has created 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 was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Physical Image

On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."