Australia Dancing - McAllister, David (1963

McAllister, David (1963 - )

Adler, Sue: Portrait of David McAllister, 2001

David McAllister became artistic director of the Australian Ballet in July 2001 following a distinguished career as a dancer with the company. Born in Perth he trained first with Evelyn Hodgkinson and then at the Australian Ballet School. He joined the Australian Ballet in 1983 and was promoted to principal artist in 1989. His major roles have included those in Onegin, Romeo and Juliet, La Fille mal gardee, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, The Sentimental Bloke, Coppelia, Manon, La Sylphide, Sinfonietta and Stepping Stones. As a dancer with the Australian Ballet he worked for two artistic directors of the company, Maina Gielgud and Ross Stretton.

As a dancer McAllister was known for his strong stage presence and clear, sound technique. He forged a memorable partnership as a young dancer with Elizabeth Toohey with whom he danced at the Fifth International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1985. Later his partnerships with Fiona Tonkin and with Vicki Attard were much admired. He has appeared as guest artist with the Bolshoi Ballet, the Kirov Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada and has been guest teacher for the Australian Ballet School, the Dancers Company, the Royal Academy of Dance, the Cecchetti Society and the Australian Institute of Classical Dance.

Early in his term as artistic director McAllister commissioned Graeme Murphy to create a new production of Swan Lake for the Australian Ballet, which premiered in 2002 during McAllister's first full year as artistic director. In 2002 he was also responsible for staging the Australian Ballet's fortieth anniversary program Beyond Forty. McAllister returned to the stage in the Australian Ballet's 2004 season of La Fille mal gardee dancing the role of the Widow Simone. In the 2004 Australia Day honours list McAllister was awarded an AM - Member of the Order of Australia - for services to ballet.

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Find more about McAllister, David in:

Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia
Collection - OzLife