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In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

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

Ball's next featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

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

Early Drivers and Creative Inspirations

His tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging 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 aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic

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

Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On social media, fans can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "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—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."