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Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has advanced smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil 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 "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's art. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Emotions

How does he feel after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, 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 Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to demonstrate 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 remembers.

The next challenge is making his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the rules 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 loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and painting.

Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership

He also is interested in staging dance in smaller spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has made pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their home company, which might be beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception

On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I feel very aware of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you made as a child," he muses. He likely has another decade of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."