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Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple tee. On stage, ballet dancers can appear as powerful deities, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Ascent to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the peak of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced annually, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on meaty dramatic roles, particularly the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's works.

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

His next starring role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" series designed to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Even in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions

What about after a performance, when he has pulled it off? "It feels pretty good," he admits. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, mild-mannered, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer previously remarked on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's tenacity originated in youthful setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "driven!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.

An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the rules is compelling, 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 Partnership

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

Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, 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 aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he admits. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that highlight a sculpted physique. 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 protective about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on multiple levels.

Ball characterizes his early self as "desperate for success." Did it met his hopes? "I feel very aware of how life is a different reality to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing ahead. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."