David Hallberg was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and the Bolshoi Ballet, a principal guest artist with The Royal Ballet, and resident guest artist with The Australian Ballet. He is the author of a critically acclaimed memoir, A Body of Work: Dancing to the edge and back (2017). He made history in 2011 when he became the first American to join the Bolshoi Ballet under the title premier dancer. In 2021, David Hallberg became the eighth artistic director of The Australian Ballet. 

What was the first performance that made a deep impression on you?

Fred Astaire in the 1935 film Top Hat. He was gliding across the television and I was hooked. Astaire became my idol for years.

When did you realise that you wanted to be an artist yourself?

It was a slow process in childhood, but the more I dove into the world of dance the more I became obsessed. I knew I had found my part of the world.

What’s the most brilliant individual performance you have ever seen?

Cecilia Bartoli at Carnegie Hall.

Name three performers you would like to work with?

Steven Klein (photographer), Pina Bausch (choreographer), and Lady Gaga.

Do you have a favourite song?

Franz Schubert’s Nacht und Traume D.827, performed by Matthias Goerne.

And your favourite composer?

Schubert, especially the piano sonatas.

How do you regard the audience?

As voyeurs.

What’s your favourite theatre or concert hall?

Metropolitan Opera House, New York.

What do you look for in arts critics?

Respect and knowledge

Do you read your own reviews?

As a dancer, no. As an artistic director, yes.

Money aside, what makes being an artist difficult – or wonderful – in Australia?

The care The Australian Ballet takes with its dancers; like no other company in the world.

What’s the best thing government could do for artists?

Realise their value to the community as a whole.

What advice would you give an aspiring artist?

Pursue, pursue, pursue.

What’s the best advice you have ever received?

Drop the ego.

What’s your next project or performance?

Oscar at the Sydney Opera House!