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Within the quiet atmosphere of a hotel bar near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem like mighty gods, yet frequently offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for princely characters and pas de deux work. Possessing fine features and piercing eyes, there's a touch of a brooding actor 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 minimal teasing for his childhood interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he graduated straight into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the psychological turmoil found in a famed choreographer's ballets.

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

His upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a performer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow while execution. Even in more comedic ballets, the test is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the most demanding technically," he notes.

The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Emotions

What about after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he admits. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the juice out of it, and get lost in the character, quite often I do feel embarrassed afterwards. After an intense role I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once remarked on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic 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 good change."

Early Motivations and Artistic Inspirations

His tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not doing well in contests at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to prove he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he remembers.

The next endeavor is making his own choreography. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Breaking the conventions 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Dance and Private Partnership

He also is interested in staging dance in more intimate venues. "It was just really thrilling," 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 perspiring.'"

Ball has created pieces with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a daring lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually paired on stage at their home company, which is perhaps 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 favorite cheerleader."

On Social Media and Physical Perception

On Instagram, followers can see videos from his projects and images that highlight a sculpted 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 states. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be interpreted on various levels.

Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has another ten years of dancing ahead. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."