July 30, 2014

Life in Pictures: David Hallberg

By Rebecca Milzoff

Photo: Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos

For the latest edition of “Life in Pictures,” photographer Christopher Anderson followed the 32-year-old American Ballet Theatre dancer on July 19 as he prepared to perform Swan Lake at Lincoln Center with the Bolshoi (where he’s also a principal). Click through the gallery ahead to see his pre-performance plank ritual, his favorite diner, and the shoes he sews himself.

* This article appears in the July 28, 2014, issue of New York Magazine.

Because of the way I’m built, I constantly have to strengthen. This is sort of a ritual: I put on my tights first, and right when I’m about to put on my costume, I get down on the floor and I plank.

Because of the way I’m built, I constantly have to strengthen. This is sort of a ritual: I put on my tights first, and right when I’m about to put on my costume, I get down on the floor and I plank.

July 19, 9:41 a.m. I just finished my season with American Ballet Theatre at the Met, and then I flew back to Russia for a week to prepare for Swan Lake. I keep my apartment here rather than renting it out.

July 19, 9:41 a.m. I just finished my season with American Ballet Theatre at the Met, and then I flew back to Russia for a week to prepare for Swan Lake. I keep my apartment here rather than renting it out.

10:03 a.m. Chelsea Square, the diner on 23rd and Ninth, is one of the first places I hit right when I get off the plane. If I’m coming home from a long stint in Moscow, it’s a full stack of pancakes, eggs, and sausage.

10:03 a.m. Chelsea Square, the diner on 23rd and Ninth, is one of the first places I hit right when I get off the plane. If I’m coming home from a long stint in Moscow, it’s a full stack of pancakes, eggs, and sausage.

10:33 a.m. The Malaysia Airlines flight happened earlier that week. The Russian dancers feel very removed when something important politically is happening and they’re away. That can be good and it can be concerning.

10:33 a.m. The Malaysia Airlines flight happened earlier that week. The Russian dancers feel very removed when something important politically is happening and they’re away. That can be good and it can be concerning.

11:16 a.m. My pants were made by the mother of a principal dancer at ABT. I don’t know what I would do if I lost them. They’re sort of getting old and haggard already, but the more I use them the better they feel.

11:16 a.m. My pants were made by the mother of a principal dancer at ABT. I don’t know what I would do if I lost them. They’re sort of getting old and haggard already, but the more I use them the better they feel.

11:59 a.m. I always try to find a sliver of time alone onstage. Even if I’ve done the ballet countless times, I like to go through certain movements and feel the stage a little bit. It’s a meditative time for me.

11:59 a.m. I always try to find a sliver of time alone onstage. Even if I’ve done the ballet countless times, I like to go through certain movements and feel the stage a little bit. It’s a meditative time for me.

12:52 p.m. 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.

12:52 p.m. 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.

5:21 p.m. I walk like a duck, very straight up and down. Or like a penguin. It’s a dead giveaway that I’m a dancer.

5:21 p.m. I walk like a duck, very straight up and down. Or like a penguin. It’s a dead giveaway that I’m a dancer.

5:47 p.m. 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. These booties were originally, like, ski-boot lining—I don’t know exactly—but they’re really warm.

5:47 p.m. 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. These booties were originally, like, ski-boot lining—I don’t know exactly—but they’re really warm.

8:00 p.m. The curtain was about to go up, and one of the dancers brought her daughter into the wings to watch the show while she was dancing. She’s just the cutest. I decided to come up and be her prince for the moment.

8:00 p.m. The curtain was about to go up, and one of the dancers brought her daughter into the wings to watch the show while she was dancing. She’s just the cutest. I decided to come up and be her prince for the moment.

8:47 p.m. I have to admit, when I do Swan, the beauty of having so many women onstage in straight lines looking glorious and really iconic— I never take those moments for granted. It’s not going to last forever.

8:47 p.m. I have to admit, when I do Swan, the beauty of having so many women onstage in straight lines looking glorious and really iconic— I never take those moments for granted. It’s not going to last forever.

9:36 p.m. There have been highs and lows living in Russia. It’s teaching me a lot about international relations. It’s a controversial country. But I have a responsibility to represent America in a country that takes arts very seriously.

9:36 p.m. There have been highs and lows living in Russia. It’s teaching me a lot about international relations. It’s a controversial country. But I have a responsibility to represent America in a country that takes arts very seriously.

11:43 p.m. Once every couple of years, my huge extended family makes a pilgrimage to come see me dance, and then we get drinks, this time at the Empire Hotel. It’s fun to party a little bit.

11:43 p.m. Once every couple of years, my huge extended family makes a pilgrimage to come see me dance, and then we get drinks, this time at the Empire Hotel. It’s fun to party a little bit.

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