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Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. Possessing fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Top

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.

"Your lungs are burning, 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 behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental workflow during performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions

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

In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate 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 recalls.

The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, 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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.

Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic

He also favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: '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 audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception

On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit focused on appearance? Not really. "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—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."