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 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.
There are certainly some artists in New York that I would love to work with. One is Sarah Michelson.
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.
I will never stop questioning. I will never stop wanting more and discovering other things and wanting to do other things. That will always be a part of me, and it's something I've come to terms with.
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.
I stopped acting Romeo and just became Romeo.
When stress sets in, and pressure, I focus.
I'm not one who goes to a lot of fashion shows or tries to infiltrate that world, really.
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 walk like a duck: very straight up and down. Or like a penguin. It's a dead giveaway that I'm a dancer.
The Bolshoi style is bigger and more emotional, in a way that I love. It has the freshness and intensity that is like what I've tried to achieve in my dance-acting roles.
Bejart is almost never performed in New York City; critically, he just gets attacked here.
Every company has its style, and that's what makes the Bolshoi so impressive: their attack on jumps or their attack on choreography.
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.