David Hallberg Joins The Royal Ballet as a Principal Guest Artist

October 3, 2019

Yesterday, The Royal Ballet announced that David Hallberg will be joining the company as a principal guest artist for the 2019–20 season.


Hallberg is already a familiar face at The Royal. As a guest last season he danced alongside beloved partner and Royal principal Natalia Osipova in Sir Frederick Ashton’s A Month in the Country and Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet. This year, Hallberg will continue to take on roles opposite Osipova. They’ll perform MacMillan’s Manon on October 15 and 19. On November 20, Hallberg will make his Royal Opera House debut as The Sleeping Beauty‘s Prince Florimund with Osipova as Princess Aurora. In March of 2020, he’ll return to star in the company’s first revival of Liam Scarlett’s new production of Swan Lake.

Over the course of the past year, Hallberg has also toured with Osipova as part of her Pure Dance program, a curated selection of new works. “His [Hallberg’s] partnership with Natalia Osipova is thrilling to watch and together they have a very special chemistry,” said The Royal Ballet’s director Kevin O’Hare in a statement.

“It’s such an honor to join The Royal Ballet as principal guest artist and dance beside, not only a partner with whom I share a unique connection, but also a world-renowned company,” added Hallberg of his extraordinary connection to the celebrated ballerina.

We can’t say we’re surprised that Hallberg is in such high demand. Since returning to the stage in 2017 after a two-year-long recovery process, he’s been frequently jetting around the world to perform. Last month alone, he danced Giselle at La Scala Theatre Ballet and in Christopher Wheeldon’s A Winter’s Tale at the Bolshoi. While Hallberg isn’t on ABT’s fall season roster, we’re hoping he’ll be back for the company’s annual summertime Met season. In the meantime we’ll miss seeing Hallberg on this side of the pond, but we’re excited for him to embark on this next adventure.