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Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and partnering. With fine traits and intense eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent 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 childhood interest in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, 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."

Ball's next featured appearance is as himself, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his mental process during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions

How does he feel following a show, when he has succeeded? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "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 afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very energetic usually, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an catalyst for positive change."

Early Drivers and Artistic Influences

Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not excelling in competitions 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 flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just acting that they’re not a thing 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 painting.

Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic

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

Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not usually matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On social media, followers can see clips from his projects and images that highlight a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about decade of dancing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."