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Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is naturally upright, his arms defined beneath a plain white T-shirt. During performances, dancers can seem as powerful gods, yet often offstage they are petite. Not so Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and pas de deux work. Possessing delicate traits and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.

An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle

At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, attaining the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on meaty characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.

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

Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer intimate insights into a performer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process while performance. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental Struggle and Post-Performance Feelings

What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the juice out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is reflective, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for positive change."

Early Motivations and Creative Inspirations

Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was fuel to prove he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.

An upcoming endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, but just pretending 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 meaning, drawing ideas from books, compositions, and art.

Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership

He also favors 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 thinking: 'That’s a human, and they’re sweating.'"

Ball has created duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t usually paired on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

On Social Media and Bodily Image

On social media, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.

Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Has it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you made as a young person," he reflects. He likely has about decade of performing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."