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In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful gods, yet often in person they are petite. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Top

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

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

Ball's upcoming featured role is as himself, in an "Evening With" series aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process while execution. Yet in lighter works, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions

What about following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Formative Drivers and Creative Inspirations

Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.

The next endeavor is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Private Partnership

He additionally is interested in presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On Instagram, fans can see clips from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted form. Does he care that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various levels.

Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate thing to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He probably has about decade of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."