In Conversation With David Hallberg

There is a real sense of openness, pride and ambition within The Australian Ballet. We have an extraordinary history and a very strong Australian identity, which comes with a willingness to be bold, to embrace new voices, different perspectives and new possibilities for the art form.

Our dancers are extraordinary athletes and artists, operating at an incredibly high level, but what strikes me just as much is how genuinely they care for one another. They celebrate each other’s successes, support each other through the challenges and come together for the milestones and special moments that make a dancer’s career so meaningful. To see that level of excellence alongside such generosity and warmth is very special.

I think that is what makes this company unique. We are ambitious, bold and fearless in what we aspire to achieve, but there is a real sense of belonging here, and a deep pride in being part of something that represents Australia on the world stage. It is a very special place to be.

Technique is the foundation, but it should never be the destination. The discipline, strength and precision required to reach that level are immense. Our dancers are extraordinary athletes and artists, and there is a constant tension between those two things, between control and freedom, precision and instinct, discipline and individuality. I think the magic happens when you can hold all of those things together.

Ultimately, all of that training is there to give a dancer freedom. When a dancer has complete command of their technique, you stop noticing the technique. You see the person. You see their personality, their instinct and their individuality. That is when the extraordinary becomes effortless.

Ballet has a very specific language, but within that language there has to be room for each dancer to find their own voice. My role is to create an environment where our dancers feel confident enough to take risks, be bold and bring something of themselves to the stage. We want them to have the discipline to execute at the highest level, but also the freedom to be curious, instinctive and fully themselves. That is where technique and individuality really come together.

William Forsythe told me once, when I was 21, “Why are you holding back? Your moment is now. What are you waiting for?”

For some reason, this resonated so deeply. I didn’t think I was holding back in rehearsal, but if I reflect, I think I wasn’t grabbing the moment to its fullest. Not living the moment to its fullest capacity. I will always remember someone telling me that I have more in me.

I think the dancers are dancing with great assurance of their capabilities, which manifests in confidence in front of audiences. It’s palpable when you watch a performance.

I want to continue to connect with audiences and surprise them with what we can offer as a company. I want to achieve an unexpected sense of surprise in what we create and perform.

I think it comes down to what makes you want to keep watching someone. There are dancers who can execute everything beautifully, but then there are dancers who have a presence that draws you in. They make you curious about them. That can come from musicality, intelligence, instinct, a sense of humour or simply the way they see the world. You can't necessarily teach those things.

I also look for someone who is hungry to learn. Not just someone who wants to get the steps right, but someone who wants to understand the work and is willing to keep asking questions. That kind of openness can take a dancer somewhere very interesting.

And I think you can recognise potential in someone long before they have everything figured out. Sometimes it is simply a quality you see in the studio, the way they respond to a choreographer, the way they listen to music, or the way they make a choice. Those are the things that make me want to know what that dancer might become.

I think the paradox of ballet is that you spend years training yourself to have extraordinary control, and then, when you are on stage, you have to know when to let go of it. In some ways, those moments of vulnerability, spontaneity and imperfection are actually what it takes to get to perfection.

We work in those places all the time. We ask dancers to have an incredible level of control and precision, but also to be willing to take risks, to respond instinctively and to be vulnerable in the moment. There are things you simply can't rehearse: the way two dancers respond to each other, a breath, a look, the feeling in the room on a particular night. They can be tiny things, but they can completely change how a performance feels. An audience may not even know exactly what has happened, but they feel it.

For me, that is where the beauty of live performance lies. We are asking the dancers to do something incredibly difficult, but we don't want the audience to see the effort. We want them to feel transported, to laugh, to be moved, to feel something unexpected. The extraordinary becomes effortless when all that discipline and preparation allows a dancer to let go and be completely present in the moment. That's the kind of perfection I think is most powerful, not the absence of imperfection, but the feeling that something completely alive is happening in front of you.

Everywhere I have lived, danced or experienced has given me a broader sense of art and culture. There is not one place that didn’t affect me. There are some that affected me more deeply, like New York, Paris and Russia, but what I have gained from every country and its culture is an understanding of diversity and perspective, which of course has shaped me as a person and artist.

I’m drawn to things that are simple, considered and timeless. I like clothes that feel effortless rather than overly styled, pieces with beautiful materials and good construction that you can live in. I think personal style is ultimately about knowing what you feel comfortable in and not trying too hard.

I’m excited by the possibility of the unexpected. You can spend your life in ballet and still walk into a rehearsal and see something you’ve never seen before. A dancer finds a new way of moving, a choreographer has an idea that changes everything, or a piece of music suddenly sounds completely different.

I think our mixed bills are a great example of that. They give choreographers the freedom to experiment and give audiences a window into where the art form is heading. For our dancers, working across very different choreographic styles pushes them to develop new skills, new ways of moving and a deeper understanding of what they are capable of. And often, those shorter works go on to become lasting favourites of the repertoire.

I also love seeing our dancers step into a principal role for the first time. Watching someone you’ve seen develop over the years suddenly own the stage is incredibly exciting. You feel the history of all the work that has brought them to that moment, but you are also seeing the beginning of something new.

And then there are those moments when ballet catches you completely off guard and moves you in a way you didn’t expect. I think that is what keeps me coming back to it. There is always another choreographer, another dancer or another work that can show you something you haven’t seen before. There is always something more to discover.

I’d like us to keep growing without losing what makes The Australian Ballet who we are. We have such an incredible history, and I think it’s important to honour that, but I’m equally interested in what comes next. I want us to be proud of where we’ve come from, while being fearless about where we can go.

I want our dancers and artists to feel challenged and inspired, and to have the freedom to take risks and try things they haven’t done before. And I want our audiences to feel that same sense of discovery, that every time they come to the ballet, there is the possibility of seeing something that surprises them or moves them.

Most importantly, I want Australians to feel deeply connected to their national ballet company. There is something very special about seeing Australian artists represent us on the national and global stage, and I want people to feel that sense of pride and ownership, that The Australian Ballet belongs to all of us.

For me, the future is about holding onto that sense of pride in who we are, while continuing to ask ourselves what more we can do. If we can honour our history, keep evolving and deepen that connection with our audiences, then there is so much possibility ahead. That is what excites me.