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Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early interest 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 tackling meaty characters, especially 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 featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the audience through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Yet in lighter works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings

How does he feel following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Influences

Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.

The next endeavor is making his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 wants his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.

Intimate Performance and Private Dynamic

He also favors staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

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