New Australian Ballet director David Hallberg, with the Australian Ballet’s principal artist Amber Scott in the background.
THERE was a sense of excitement afoot as American dancer and choreographer David Hallberg stepped into the shoes of the Australian Ballet director of 20 years, David McAllister, to announce the 2021 season for the flagship company, themed as “a new era of artistry”.
Hallberg, who while a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre had become the first American to join the Bolshoi Ballet as a principal in 2011, first visited the Australian Ballet as a guest artist in 2010. In 2016, after more than two years being treated by the Australian Ballet’s artistic health team for an injury, he relaunched his career, partnering the company’s principal artist, Amber Scott, in “Coppélia”, during which time he became deeply immersed in the life of the company.