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've always questioned the way dancers, myself included, must do the same role year in and year out. It's important for me to be able to say to myself, 'O.K., I don't want to be a prince anymore. I want to put on a leather jockstrap and pose.'
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.
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.
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.
If I can relay anything, it's that if someone has a dream, and it isn't the norm of what others are doing around you, it doesn't matter. Reach for it. Go for it - because I'm a shining example of that.
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.
New York at times runs me dry because there's so much to do. There's never enough time to do everything. It's nice to have the balance in Moscow.
Ballet needs figures that people can recognize and relate to. People don't know ballet dancers as well as they know other artists.