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Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.

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

His next starring role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he states.

The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings

What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."

Early Drivers and Artistic Influences

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

An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the rules is compelling, but just acting 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership

He also favors staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."

Regarding Instagram and Physical Image

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

Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."