LVHRD member and judge of the first DNCHRD, David Hallberg, has some fancy feet of his own as showcased by a full spread article in ballet magazine, Pointe. The piece chronicles the “princely” dancer’s rise from a tap dancing, Fred Astaire loving youth to becoming the newest principal at the American Ballet Theatre.

A daunting trek, the self-proclaimed “all American boy,” began his life in Rapid City, South Dakota and later moved to Arizona where he was discovered by Boston ballet soloist, Kee Juan Han. With a technique that was brilliant even at the age of 13, David wound up moving again, but this time to Paris, France where he studied at the Paris Opera Ballet School (POBS). The article showcases his arduous mission to become principal, but we’ll leave you to find out how he did it by picking up the August/September issue of the magazine which features Hallberg on the cover.

The piece, which is written deftly by Tango Tanner, presents a somewhat contradictory portrait of David. One minute, he appears to be just an ordinary, albeit brilliant, face in the crowd. The next, he is compared to royalty. The catch-22 in all this is that he’s actually both.