Ballet megastar David Hallberg to replace David McAllister as Australian Ballet’s artistic director

American ballet superstar David Hallberg has been appointed as the next artistic director of the Australian Ballet.

The Australian Ballet's new artistic director David Hallberg. Picture: David Geraghty

The Australian Ballet is poised for a dynamic new era with the appointment of dance superstar David Hallberg as the company’s artistic director.

Hallberg, 37, replaces David McAllister, who leaves at the end of this year after two decades in the job. The recruitment is a coup for the company, given his talent and his international connections. But it’s a homecoming of sorts, too, given Hallberg’s close association with the AB for the past ten years.

Hallberg replaces David McAllister. Picture: Georges Antoni

On Tuesday morning, as company chair Craig Dunn broke the news to the dancers about its eighth artistic director, Hallberg took a moment to savour the occasion. “It felt familial,” he said. “To be honest it was really genuine from my end. I’m so motivated to get my hands dirty and charge the institution forward.”

Hallberg, who starts next year, brings vast experience to the role. He is currently principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet, as well as resident guest artist at the AB. In 2011 he made history by becoming the first American named principal dancer at the Bolshoi Ballet.

He has been a regular guest artist with the AB for the past ten years. He deepened his relationship with the company four years ago by spending 14 months in Melbourne recovering from a career-threatening ankle injury. He returned to the stage in late 2016 as part of a Sydney staging of Coppelia.

Now his time as a dancer is coming to an end, notwithstanding a handful of commitments already booked into the new year.

“I don’t intend to be dancing for the company,” he said. “I book my schedule a good year and a half in advance, so I do have some professional commitments that I will be pursuing this year and into a little bit of next year. But my mentality has shifted as of today. I have loved being a professional dancer but I always knew this day would come and honestly I’m so motivated about it.”

Hallberg will begin in the role in January, 2021. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

Hallberg will oversee the company’s 2020 season while working on his inaugural program for the following year.

He said he had “every intention” of bringing international choreographers to Australia. “But on the other hand,” he said, “something I’m really motivated by is to nurture and develop Australian artistic talent.”

Hallberg said he had great respect for the beauty and tradition of classical traditions. But he added that it was important to strike a balance between historical precedents and more contemporary tastes.

“I know dancers today want to be pushed forward, they want to be challenged, and it doesn’t always involve pointe shoes and pirouettes,” he said.

Deborah Jones, The Australian’s national dance critic, said Hallberg’s appointment would inject new energy into the company. “While he made his stellar reputation in familiar 19th century classics, he is known to have wide artistic tastes and has exceptional contacts. Expect to see dancers and audiences alike challenged in their understanding of what makes a great ballet company in the 21st century.”

AB chair Chair Craig Dunn said: “David’s highly successful international career as a classical ballet dancer and his leadership roles in the companies he has danced with regularly, mean he will bring a unique artistic lens and global view to his leadership at The Australian Ballet.

“David is very well known to our dancers, the company and our Australian audiences through his regular visits, including a 14 month-long ‘residency’ during injury rehabilitation. It is our very good fortune that David has chosen to transition from his career as dancer to that of artistic director with the Australian Ballet. David’s appointment heralds an exciting new era for both The Australian Ballet and for dance in Australia and we look forward to welcoming him as our artistic director in January 2021.”