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Within the hushed ambiance of a hotel bar near London's Royal Ballet, Matthew Ball requests a mint tea. His posture is naturally straight-backed, his limbs muscular beneath a plain white T-shirt. On stage, dancers can seem like powerful deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his popularity for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With delicate features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.

An Apparent Rise to the Pinnacle

Now 31, Ball is enjoying the crest of a career that has progressed seamlessly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered little teasing for his childhood passion in ballet. Entering the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the troupe and was promoted each year, attaining the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has loved tackling substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological turmoil found in Kenneth MacMillan's works.

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

His upcoming starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event aiming to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's craft. He will guide the audience through a part, demonstrating his mental process during execution. Yet in more comedic ballets, the test is significant. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he states.

The Psychological Struggle and After the Show Feelings

How does he feel following a show, when he has pulled it off? "It's pretty good," he says. "But because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"

Offstage, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. But a dance maker previously observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that negativity has been an catalyst for good change."

Formative Drivers and Artistic Inspirations

His determination stemmed from early setbacks. Not doing well in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" It was motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Discovering the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he recalls.

The next endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Challenging the conventions is compelling, 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 meaning, drawing inspiration from literature, compositions, and art.

Intimate Dance and Private Partnership

He also favors staging dance in more intimate 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 sweating.'"

Ball has made duets with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We first practiced on a beach," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." The couple aren’t usually matched on stage at their main theater, which might be healthy. "We’re both quite strong-willed people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he admits. "Yet I feel like we’re each other’s favorite supporter."

Regarding Instagram and Bodily Image

On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that showcase a athletic physique. Does he care that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? 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 interpreted on various levels.

Ball describes his early self as "eager for success." Did it met his expectations? "I feel very aware of how reality is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he reflects. He probably has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."