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In the quiet atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear like powerful deities, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated directly into the company and was advanced annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty characters, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

His upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a part, demonstrating his cognitive workflow while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and After the Show Feelings

What about following a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel self-conscious later. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's tenacity stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.

An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, but just acting 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 books, music, and painting.

Intimate Dance and Personal Partnership

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

Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined 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 images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind 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 states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a young person," he reflects. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."