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In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can appear as mighty gods, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is part of his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.

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

His upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, showing his cognitive process during execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings

How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's determination stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. In his view, "organic movement has value." "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 wants his work to be loaded with meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic

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

Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level 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 usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest cheerleader."

On Social Media and Bodily Perception

On Instagram, fans can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit focused on appearance? Not particularly. "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 interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball describes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his expectations? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about ten years of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."