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In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem as powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely roles and partnering. With delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Top

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little 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 lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

Ball's upcoming featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental process while execution. Even in lighter works, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.

The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions

What about following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Influences

Ball's tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor 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 reality any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be filled with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, music, and art.

Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic

He additionally favors staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so near to the viewers. 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 aren’t 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 notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

On Social Media and Bodily Perception

On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "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—something that can be seen on various levels.

Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."