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Within the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like mighty deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely roles and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial characters, particularly the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

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

His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental process during execution. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.

The Mental Struggle and After the Show Emotions

How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."

Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.

An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting 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 inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership

He additionally is interested in staging 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 realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, 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." They are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."

On Social Media and Bodily Perception

On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.

Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."