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In the hushed ambiance of a lounge near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his arms muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty gods, yet often offstage they are small. Not so Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his demand for princely characters and partnering. Possessing delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

A Seamless Rise to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is experiencing the crest of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he encountered minimal teasing for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has relished 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 mental fatigue."

Ball's next featured role is in a talk, in an "Evening With" event aiming to offer intimate perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental workflow during execution. Yet in lighter works, the test is significant. "Don Quixote is one of the toughest from a skill perspective," he notes.

The Psychological Game and Post-Performance Feelings

How does he feel after a show, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to extract all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the character, frequently I do feel embarrassed afterwards. Following an intense role I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is reflective, mild-mannered, and prone to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Does this exist? "I'm quite active in general, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an instigator for positive change."

Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

His determination stemmed from youthful setbacks. Not doing well in contests at school made him "driven!" This became fuel to demonstrate he could achieve. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "pivotal" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.

The next challenge is creating his own dance works. In his view, "there's nothing wrong with." "Challenging the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing 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 books, music, and art.

Close-Up Dance and Private Partnership

He additionally is interested in presenting 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 sweating.'"

Ball has made duets with his girlfriend, fellow principal Mayara Magri. The degree of faith between them is evident. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It resembled Dirty Dancing." They aren’t typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite cheerleader."

Regarding Instagram and Physical Perception

On social media, fans can see clips from his dance films and images that highlight a athletic form. Does he mind that the response can be somewhat focused on appearance? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—an object that can be seen on various ways.

Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Has it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a different reality to the aspirations you had as a child," he reflects. He probably has another decade of dancing left. "I guess in the future, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."