David Hallberg
David Hallberg
David Hallberg is an American classical ballet dancer. He is a principal dancer for the Bolshoi Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and became the first American to become a principal dancer with the Bolshoi in 2011. Hallberg was invited by Sergei Filin, Bolshoi Ballet's artistic director to join as either a guest artist or principal. Part of his decision to join was made, in part, to dance with ballerina Natalia Osipova with whom he has danced previously...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDancer
Date of Birth18 May 1982
CountryUnited States of America
I have one coach and one coach only. His name is Alexander Vetrov. They brought him in for me when I joined the Bolshoi. He was a dancer with the Bolshoi, and we work very intensely together.
I think I'm the same dancer everywhere. But I've learned a lot with Bolshoi - the history of the theater, the technique of the theater, different nuances in my technique.
Ballet needs figures that people can recognize and relate to. People don't know ballet dancers as well as they know other artists.
I love the dancers in the Bolshoi, but all of my Moscow friends are outside the company. A friend introduced me to Vika Gazinskaya, a well-known Russian designer. I met her group. The rest is history.
Many dancers are content with the repertoire they're given. Others are dissatisfied but don't know why. Then there are a few like me that are curious and grab at everything. Can that curiosity thrive in the ballet world, or should it exist elsewhere? That's the eternal question.
Every company has its own texture, vocabulary, and singular place in dance history, and I have always wanted to share my perspective of these world renowned institutions.
Russians are very discerning about ballet. They're very opinionated about what classical ballet is.
I stopped acting Romeo and just became Romeo.
No one around me was obsessed with Fred Astaire except for me. It just snowballed, really. I started with tap lessons. When I didn't have tap shoes, I taped nickels on the bottom of my penny loafers.
I'll never be satisfied in classical ballet. It'll never be good enough. I'll never be happy with most of my product.
Every company has its style, and that's what makes the Bolshoi so impressive: their attack on jumps or their attack on choreography.
I sew my own shoes. Other male dancers don't, but I like it one way, and I've learned to do it that way.
Ballet is incestuous. This world is smaller than small.
Certainly, when you train as a classical dancer, you are very much influenced by 'Giselle.' You see it all the time; you start to learn the steps a little.