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In the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Top

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his early interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced annually, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the emotional 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 next featured appearance 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 audience through a role, showing his cognitive process while performance. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

How does he feel after a performance, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed later. Following an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Influences

Ball's tenacity stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to prove he could succeed. Reading 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 endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "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 ideas from literature, music, and art.

Intimate Dance and Personal Dynamic

He also favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a previous 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 partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired 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 admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and photos that showcase a sculpted physique. Does he care that the response 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 compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various levels.

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