ARTINFO has an interesting interview with David Hallberg. David just finished up in the ABT season and will dance Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake with his other company The Bolshoi Ballet. The company will be at David Koch Theater from July 12-27, performing Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and Spartacus. From the article:
How were you received by other members of the company?
It’s taken some time to be honest. Not that I had any negative experiences but I was very conscious when I first came to the Bolshoi of being an outsider, of being not from the Bolshoi Academy and not really a Bolshoi-type dancer. I tried to be as respectful as I could, not instilling my own ideas or implementing my own ego per se over anyone else’s. I think from the very beginning it set a tone that I was here to swim with everyone else and to learn as much as I could from the institution, and hopefully the institution could learn as much from me. We’ve ended up with a beautiful rapport.
Is it difficult for you to toggle between ABT and the Bolshoi?
The big decision isn’t about shifting styles back and forth, it’s more logistically deciding where I spend my time. I l love both companies equally.