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Within the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan'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 "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the audience through a role, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "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."

Early Drivers and Artistic Influences

His tenacity originated in early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming challenge is creating his own choreography. In his view, "organic movement has value." "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 filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, music, and art.

Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership

He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "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 trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."