Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Benjamin Millepied

Benjamin Millepied. Photo by U.S. Embassy photographer. Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Benjamin Millepied

Benjamin Millepied is a French dancer and choreographer who was born on 10^th June 1977 in Bordeaux in France.

He lived and worked in the United States of America mostly with the New York City Ballet as from 1995 to 2011 when he retired from the company.

At the New York City Ballet, Millepied became a soloist in 1998 and in 2002 he became a principal.

 Apart from creating choreography for the New York City Ballet, he also choreographed for other companies over time.

The top 10 fascinating facts about Benjamin Millepied include the following.

1. Millepied Started Ballet Training at The Age of Eight

Bordeaux in France. Photo by Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands . Wikimedia Commons.

 Millepied was born in Bordeaux in France in 1977 to Denys Millepied and Catherine Flory.

His mother was a former ballet dancer and hence started training Millepied on ballet dancing when he was just eight years of age.

He continued with his training and studied with Michel Rahn at the Conservatoire National in Lyon, France when he was between the ages of 13 and 16.

2. Millepied Was Awarded A Scholarship to Study at The School of American Ballet

Millepied attended classes at the School of American Ballet in the summer of 1992 for a short time.

However, he returned to study full-time in 1993 after the French Ministry gave him a scholarship under the Bourse Lavoisier or Lavoisier Scholarship programme.

A choreographer Jerome Robbins who took an interest on him also mentored him early in his career.

3. Millepied Became A Soloist and A principal Dancer At New York City Ballet

New York City Ballet. Photo by Jess Hawsor. Wikimedia Commons

 Millepied joined New York City Ballet’s corps de ballet in 1995 to pursue his career in ballet dancing after training.

He was promoted to the role of a soloist in 1998 and in 2002 he became a principal dancer with the company.

4. Millepied Became A Choreographer Creating Dances for Many Clients

Scene From Baryshnikov Arts Center. Photo by eight_io. Wikimedia Commons

Apart from performing ballet dances with New York City Ballet, Millepied became a choreographer and created dances for many other companies.

Some of the organizations he created dances for include the City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the School of American Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opera Ballet and the Ballet de Genève among others.

Millepied also created dances for Danses Concertantes which was his own company. He was choreographer-in-residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York as from 2006 to 2007.

5. Millepied Together with Others Founded and Directed L.A. Dance Project

Nicholas Britell. Photo by DeCombray. Wikimedia Commons

Millepied in partnership with composers Nicholas Britell, Nico Muhly and Matthieu Humery and producer Charles Fabius founded L.A. Dance Project in 2011.

The company was launched with a commission which was expected to last two years from Glorya Kaufman.

The company which presents dance at Los Angeles Music Center has an operating budget of $1 million annually.

The L.A. Dance Project established a full-time residence at Los Angeles Theatre Center with the objective of presenting new works throughout the city in 2012.

On 22 September 2012, the company held its inaugural performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall which was commissioned by the music center.

6. Millepied And L.A. Dance Project Team Have Performed in High Profile Locations in Europe

Theatre du Chatelet. Photo by Marie-Noëlle Robert. Wikimedia Commons

On 23^rd April 2013, the premiere of “Reflections” by Millepied took place at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

L.A Dance Project performed in renown locations in Europe such as the Holland Festival in Amsterdam, Istanbul, Spoleto Festival in Italy and Edinburgh International Festival in 2013.

Other places that they toured include La Maison de la Danse in Lyon, France and Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London during the same year.

The company premiered two new pieces at Maison de la Danse in Lyon in September 2013.

L.A Dance Project announced that Theatre at Ace Hotel would be its new home venue in January 2014.

7. Millepied Was the Director of Dance at The Paris Opera Ballet

William Forsythe. Photo by U.S. Mission Photos by Eric Bridiers. Wikimedia Commons

In 2013 Millepied accepted the position of the director of dance at the Paris Opera Ballet and in October, 2014 succeeded Brigitte Lefèvre.

Millepied brought in William Forsythe as an associate choreographer during his time at the Paris Opera Ballet.

William Forsythe assisted in offering an in-house training program for choreographers and as his collaborator.

Millepied’s first season at Paris Opera Ballet raised over a million euros as it was a gala filled by celebrities.

He organized dancer exchanges with the Mariinsky and American Ballet Theater and established a digital platform for new work.

8. Millepied’s First Production as Director Premiered in France On Canal +

In December 2015, a ballet documentary titled Relève by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai featuring Millepied premiered in France on Canal+.

The documentary featured Millepied as he mounted his first production as director of the Paris Opera Ballet.

The documentary had its North American premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival as a reset at a later date.

On 4^th February 2016, Millepied resigned and was succeeded by Aurélie Dupont as director of dance at Paris ballet.

9. Millepied Has Collaborated with Contemporary Composers and Has Received Various Awards

David Lang, Nico Muhly, Thierry Escaich, Daniel Ott, and Philip Glass are some of the contemporary composers which Millepied has commissioned and collaborated with over time.

Donors including philanthropists Anne Bass and Arlene Cooper have supported Millepied’s work which has been underwritten by The Jerome Robbins Trust and Foundation.

Millepied received the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise in 1995 and the Prix de Lausanne in 1994.

Millepied was made Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in 2010

10. Millepied Work Has Been Featured in Renown Movies and Has Directed Some Films

Millepied’s dancing was motion-captured for the animated children’s film “Barbie in the Nutcracker” in 2001.

The Barbie film” Barbie of Swan Lake” released in 2003 also captured Millepied’s dancing.

He served as choreographer for Black Swan, a psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky in 2009.

The stars Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis appeared as ballet dancers in New York City in the movie.

He was the leading man in a short film co-directed by Asa Mader and starring Léa Seydoux, called Time Doesn’t Stand Still in which he personally appeared and danced.

He founded the Amoveo Company, a multimedia production company and art collective in 2012.

In collaboration with various artists including Mark Bradford, Philip Glass, IO Echo, Zeds Dead, and Lil Buck he has directed a number of short films.