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In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Top

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

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

Ball's next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.

The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions

What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active usually, 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 positive change."

Early Motivations and Creative Influences

Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading 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. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending 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 filled with substance, drawing inspiration from books, music, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic

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

Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not typically paired 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 biggest cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On Instagram, followers can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball characterizes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He probably has about ten years of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."