Benjamin Millepied
Benjamin Millepied is a celebrated choreographer, director, and former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Born in Bordeaux, France, he spent his early childhood in Senegal until the age of five, where his passion for dance began, inspired by his mother, a dancer herself. At eleven, Millepied commenced formal ballet training with Vladimir Skouratoff at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. From 1990 to 1993, he studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon under Marie-France Dieulevin and Michel Rahn.
In 1993, Millepied moved to New York to attend the School of American Ballet, training under Stanley Williams and Adam Lüders. He performed as part of the original cast of Jerome Robbins’ 2 & 3 Part Inventions. In 1994, Millepied was awarded the prestigious Prix de Lausanne and the Mae L. Wien Award for outstanding promise. Joining the New York City Ballet (NYCB) in 1995, he was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2001. During his tenure, Millepied performed an extensive repertoire of works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins and originated roles in ballets by Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon, Mauro Bigonzetti, Angelin Preljocaj, and Peter Martins, among others.
Millepied began his choreographic career in 2001, founding the project Danses Concertantes. In 2006, as a choreographer-in-residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, he created Years Later for Mikhail Baryshnikov. Since 2005, he has choreographed for leading companies worldwide, and his ballets are part of the repertory of companies such as NYCB, Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Berlin Staatsoper, Geneva Ballet, Rome Opera, and Mariinsky Ballet. He has collaborated with renowned artists such as Mark Bradford, Liam Gillick, Rodarte, Barbara Kruger, Christopher Wool, Paul Cox, Daniel Buren, and composer Nico Muhly, with whom he has created seven ballets.
In 2010, Millepied choreographed and starred in Darren Aronofsky’s Oscar-winning film Black Swan.
In 2012, Millepied relocated to Los Angeles and co-founded the L.A. Dance Project (LADP) with Charles Fabius. LADP has performed in prestigious theaters and unconventional venues globally, commissioning numerous new dances. In 2018, the company established its home at 2245, a space for rehearsals, performances, and artist residencies. LADP has enjoyed the generous support of Van Cleef & Arpels since its founding.
In January 2013, Millepied was appointed Director of the Paris Opera Ballet. During his tenure, he launched a dance medicine program, a digital stage (The Third Stage), and commissioned works by William Forsythe, Wayne McGregor, Crystal Pite, and Justin Peck. He also presented the works of Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Maguy Marin to the Opera and brought the Batsheva Dance Company to its stage for the first time. Millepied stepped down in 2016 to focus on choreography and filmmaking, as documented in the acclaimed film Reset.
In 2023, Millepied made his directorial feature film debut with Carmen, a Sony Pictures Classics Film, featuring a score by Nicholas Britell, earning a Chita Rivera Award nomination for Best Choreography.
Returning to Paris in 2022, Millepied co-founded the Paris Dance Project with Solenne Du Hays. This initiative integrates dance education into schools and presents La Ville Dansée, a citywide yearly event. The 2024 edition featured ten commissioned dances performed across ten iconic locations in a single day. The Paris Dance Project receives generous support from Chanel and Richard Mille.
Recent highlights include Millepied’s acclaimed 2023 production of Romeo & Juliet for LADP at La Seine Musicale in Paris, and Be Here Now, a collaboration with Barbara Kruger and Andy Akiho. Millepied also returned to the stage in Unstill Life, a duet with pianist Alexandre Tharaud. In 2024, he premiered Me.You.We.They, a dance created with composer Nico Muhly and co-produced by the Philharmonie de Paris. That same year, he debuted Grace, a musical inspired by Jeff Buckley’s life and legacy, at Seine Musicale.
Looking ahead, Millepied will premiere Rituels by Pierre Boulez in 2025, celebrating the composer’s legacy under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Philharmonie de Paris. He is also preparing to stage and choreograph Les Demoiselles de Rochefort at the Lido Theater in Paris, set to open on October 2, 2025, with an extraordinary 290 scheduled performances.
In recognition of his contributions to the arts, Millepied was awarded the French Legion of Honor in 2024.