David Hallberg Is Returning to the Stage, The World Makes Sense Again

December 7, 2016

Hallberg back in 2012 (Matthew Karas for Dance Magazine)

How much have we missed American Ballet Theatre and Bolshoi Ballet star David Hallberg? SOOOOOOOO MUCH.

The gorgeous dancer suffered a serious ankle injury back in 2014, which was the beginning of a dark period in many devoted Hallbergians’ lives. But we really started to worry about a year ago, when he shaved his famously luscious locks and then essentially disappeared—not just from the stage, but also from NYC, and even from Instagram. Let’s just say that many prayers were sent to the dance gods on his behalf.

Then, a few months ago, there was a glimmer of hope: It looked like Hallberg was back in the ballet studio. And a couple of weeks ago, we got the news we’d been waiting for: An Australian dance critic revealed Hallberg would be returning to the stage December 13, dancing Franz in the Australian Ballet’s production of Coppélia.

Naturally, there was much rejoicing.

This week, the Sydney Morning Herald published an interview with Hallberg in which he talks about how he’s spent the past year. Basically, he moved to Australia and devoted himself completely to his recovery—a long, grueling, mentally devastating process. “Emotionally, some days I was just going by the words of my team and not my own self-belief,” he told the Herald. “I was lost mentally but something inside me kept fighting. It took an army of people to get me back on stage. It wasn’t just me. It really took the positive reinforcement of the entire team to say, ‘you are doing this, this is happening’.”

Hallberg’s Coppélia performance will actually be his debut as Franz, which makes sense in a way—a fresh start for his fresh start. We are, to put it mildly, profoundly jealous of Sydney’s balletomanes. (Here’s hoping Hallberg finds his way to NYC soon.)

Welcome back to the stage, David. May you never have to leave it again!


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