Today I'm speaking with David Hallberg, the new Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet. David was born in a small American town called Rapid City in South Dakota. David started dancing at nine years old, after seeing Fred Astaire on the television. And he only started ballet when he was 13. But by 17, he was selected to do a year at the Paris Opera Ballet School before joining his dream company, ABT, the American Ballet Theatre.
He rose swiftly through the ranks, to principal within four years, and then he was the first American to be asked to be a principal with the Bolshoi Ballet, the Russian juggernaut that had previously only accepted Russian trained dancers. In this wonderfully engaging interview, David talks about his love of dance, growing up in America, and the moment he was first named as a principal. But David also shares some of his darker moments. He talks about bullying, and the injury that crippled him for over two years, before finally returning to the stage and becoming the new Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet. When we spoke, David had just announced that due to Covid the Australian Ballet won't be performing for the remainder of 2021.
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Host @byclaudialawson
Talking Pointes is produced on the lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, to whom we pay our greatest respects.
This season of Talking Pointes is sponsored by Energetiks. Energetics, specialize in creating sustainable for the stars of tomorrow. Perform and feel your best at every stage of your dance journey in energetics, premium, high performance fabrics. Talking Pointes listeners receive a discount code of 20% to use on their extensive range online @ energetics.com au or for our US listeners, it's energetics.com, Ts and Cs apply.
Production dream team ✨
Hosted by @byclaudialawson
Produced by @fjordreview
Additional Production @clinttopic
Sound & Editing @outputmedia
Studios @brightsidesydney
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