The Australian Ballet

David Hallberg

Artistic Director

David Hallberg 1053 FINAL 1

David Hallberg

David 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. He made history in 2011 when he became the first American to join the Bolshoi Ballet under the title premier dancer.

David danced every major full-length classical ballet, along with works by the major choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries. He performed as a guest artist with the Mariinsky Ballet, the Paris Opéra Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, the Tokyo Ballet, Teatro Colon Buenos Aires, Kiev Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Bayreische Staatsoper Ballet, Opera di Roma and Georgian State Ballet, among others.

In November 2011 David performed The Sleeping Beauty, the first ballet performance to reopen the newly renovated Bolshoi Theatre, which was broadcast through cinemas to 60 countries around the world. He won the prestigious Benois de la Danse Prize for Best Male Dancer in 2010, for his performance as Albrecht in Giselle with American Ballet Theatre. He established the David Hallberg Scholarship to mentor aspiring male dancers at American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company and Ballet Arizona. He has also created and directs ABT INCUBATOR, a workshop encouraging creation by emerging choreographers.

In 2021, David Hallberg became the eighth Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet.