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In the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for princely roles and pas de deux work. With fine traits and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

Ball's upcoming starring appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive workflow during performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

What about after a show, 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, quite often I do feel self-conscious later. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "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 instigator for good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, but just acting 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 substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and art.

Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership

He additionally is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically paired on stage at their main theater, which might be beneficial. "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 favorite cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On social media, fans can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball describes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He probably has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."