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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 naturally upright, his limbs defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet frequently offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Top

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the emotional angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

Ball's upcoming starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a role, demonstrating his cognitive workflow during performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," 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. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, 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 positive change."

Early Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

His determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

The next challenge is making his own choreography. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is interesting, 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 loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.

Close-Up Dance and Personal Partnership

He also favors presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past show. "You’re so close 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 lead dancer Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Image

On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a athletic physique. Does he mind that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various levels.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of performing left. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."