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In the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his arms defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. On stage, ballet dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic roles and partnering. With fine features and intense eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Top

At 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he faced little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved directly into the company and was promoted each year, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological angst found in Kenneth MacMillan's ballets.

"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 "In Conversation" event aiming to offer intimate insights into a performer's art. He will guide the audience through a part, showing his cognitive process during performance. Even in lighter ballets, the challenge is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding from a skill perspective," he states.

The Psychological Game and After the Show Emotions

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

In person, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. Yet a choreographer once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I am very active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

Ball's determination stemmed from early experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It flipped a switch, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.

An upcoming challenge is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions 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 wants his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership

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

Ball has created duets with his partner, fellow principal 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." They are not usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."

On Social Media and Bodily Perception

On social media, followers can see videos from his projects and photos that showcase a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be a bit 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 seeing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be interpreted on multiple ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a different thing to the dreams you had as a child," he muses. He probably has another ten years of performing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."