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In the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's posture is effortlessly upright, his arms muscular beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can appear like powerful gods, yet frequently in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is part of his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Top

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered little ridicule for his childhood interest in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was promoted annually, reaching the highest position of principal in 2018. He has loved tackling 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."

Ball's upcoming featured appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series aiming to offer intimate insights into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow while execution. Yet in more comedic works, the challenge is profound. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he states.

The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions

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

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite energetic in general, but I do have a melancholy streak," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for positive change."

Formative Motivations and Creative Influences

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

The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging 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 aims his work to be filled with substance, drawing ideas from literature, compositions, and painting.

Close-Up Performance and Personal Dynamic

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

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

On Social Media and Physical Image

On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he mind that the response can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he states. He relates it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a child," he reflects. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."