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In the hushed atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

His next featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his cognitive process while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the challenge is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions

How does he feel after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel 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 recalls.

The next 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 thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing ideas from literature, music, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic

He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."

On Social Media and Bodily Image

On social media, followers can see clips from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.

Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."