David McAllister AC was director of The Australian Ballet from 2001 to 2020. Over three decades with the company, McAllister was celebrated for his extraordinary performances as a dancer and led The Australian Ballet to become one of the most highly regarded dance companies in the world. In an interview with Richard Fidler in 2019 for ABC Conversations, McAllister described a childhood love of dance: ‘I was always dancing around … my first memory was waiting for Play School and dancing in front of the TV with tea towels tucked into my pants and spinning … it was destined that I was going to dance.’