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Within the quiet ambiance of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can appear as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished tackling meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

"Your breath is short, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."

Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will walk the crowd through a role, showing his cognitive process while performance. Even in more comedic works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.

The Mental Game and After the Show Feelings

What about after a show, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. After Mayerling I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His determination originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

An upcoming endeavor is creating his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the rules 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.

Intimate Dance and Private Dynamic

He also favors presenting dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really exciting," 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 sweating.'"

Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They are not usually matched 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 supporter."

On Social Media and Bodily Image

On Instagram, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he care that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "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—an object that can be interpreted on multiple levels.

Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."