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In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for good change."

Early Drivers and Creative Influences

His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.

The next endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "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 ideas from books, compositions, and painting.

Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership

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

Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Image

On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."