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In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced minimal ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

His next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a role, demonstrating his cognitive process during performance. Even in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions

How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."

Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

The next endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just acting that they’re not a reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership

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

Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception

On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted form. 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple ways.

Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."