David Hallberg

“I sew my own shoes. Other male dancers don't, but I like it one way, and I've learned to do it that way.”

“Every company has its own texture, vocabulary, and singular place in dance history, and I have always wanted to share my perspective of these world renowned institutions.”

“I've been interested in art and fashion for as long as I can remember because they are so visual. I am fascinated by the idea of visual creation from the ground up, which is a challenge in ballet when the audience has seen every show of yours, every other principal that you've shared a role with, and every different production.”

“I love the dancers in the Bolshoi, but all of my Moscow friends are outside the company. A friend introduced me to Vika Gazinskaya, a well-known Russian designer. I met her group. The rest is history.”

“When stress sets in, and pressure, I focus.”

“No one around me was obsessed with Fred Astaire except for me. It just snowballed, really. I started with tap lessons. When I didn't have tap shoes, I taped nickels on the bottom of my penny loafers.”

“Every company has its style, and that's what makes the Bolshoi so impressive: their attack on jumps or their attack on choreography.”

“I have one coach and one coach only. His name is Alexander Vetrov. They brought him in for me when I joined the Bolshoi. He was a dancer with the Bolshoi, and we work very intensely together.”

“I walk like a duck: very straight up and down. Or like a penguin. It's a dead giveaway that I'm a dancer.”

“I'm not one who goes to a lot of fashion shows or tries to infiltrate that world, really.”

“Certainly, when you train as a classical dancer, you are very much influenced by 'Giselle.' You see it all the time; you start to learn the steps a little.”

“Ballet is certainly appreciated in New York, but it has been a part of the Russian culture, history and heritage for hundreds of years, so it's much more instilled in the Russian blood.”

“I think I'm the same dancer everywhere. But I've learned a lot with Bolshoi - the history of the theater, the technique of the theater, different nuances in my technique.”

“If I can relay anything, it's that if someone has a dream, and it isn't the norm of what others are doing around you, it doesn't matter. Reach for it. Go for it - because I'm a shining example of that.”

“With Bolshoi technique, the movements are quite large, the jumps are big, and I'm a tall dancer, so I've learned to use my height more, to elongate my moves, jumps and positions. I'm physically using my body more to my advantage.”

“Ballet needs figures that people can recognize and relate to. People don't know ballet dancers as well as they know other artists.”

“New York at times runs me dry because there's so much to do. There's never enough time to do everything. It's nice to have the balance in Moscow.”

“When I went to Moscow, I felt I was relearning Swan Lake - which was written for the Bolshoi - and being immersed in a tradition and history I had never experienced. It took a while to adjust to living there and learning the language, but now I have lots of friends. I get the best of two completely different worlds.”

“The Bolshoi style is bigger and more emotional, in a way that I love. It has the freshness and intensity that is like what I've tried to achieve in my dance-acting roles.”

“Bejart is almost never performed in New York City; critically, he just gets attacked here.”