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In the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his childhood passion in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, particularly the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

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

His next featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes insights into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental workflow while execution. Yet in lighter works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.

The Mental Game and Post-Performance Emotions

What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed later. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously 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 pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Formative Drivers and Artistic Influences

Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was fuel to prove 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 recalls.

The next 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 wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Performance and Personal Dynamic

He also is interested in staging dance in smaller venues. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so close to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"

Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." The couple are not typically paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Image

On Instagram, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit 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 relates it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various ways.

Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how reality is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has about decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."