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Within the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

Ball's next starring role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Yet in more comedic works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Mental Game and Post-Performance Feelings

What about after a performance, 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 embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."

Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

The next endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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 loaded with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and painting.

Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership

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

Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."