DAN302_LeGrow

Benjamin Millepied Brooke LeGrow DAN 302

• Born in Bordeaux, France on June 10th, 1977.

• Started dancing at the age of 5 in the city where he grew up, Sengal.

• At age 11, started training under Vladimir Skouratoff at the Grande Theatre de Bordeaux.

• He trained at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Lyon before moving to New York at the School of American Ballet.

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In 1995, Mr. Millepied was invited to join the New York City Ballet.

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Mr. Millepied was in many ballets choreographed by famous choreographers such as George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.

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After some time performing, Mr. Millepied began to choreograph his own works. These have been featured in several dance companies across the globe.

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In 2012, Mr. Millepied move to Los Angeles and founded his own company, the L.A. Dance Project.

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In 2013, he was named the new director of the Paris Opera Ballet.

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Married to actress Natalie Portman, they have two children together.

Choreographed by Mr. Millepied

48 minutes in length

Bach Studies (Part 1)

Music: Partita for Violin in D Minor by Bach

Premiered in February of 2018

Premiered at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami – Dade County

About Bach Studies ( Part 1) • This ballet is unique in that it does not have a storyline but explores a concept.

Mr. Millepied explores the musical score preformed by Bach by using dance devices such as cannon, counterpoint, and fugue.

The exploration of the music can be seen on the dancer’s bodies. Mr. Millepied’s dives deeply into the music to create a beautiful partnership between sound and visual aspects.

Variation of Bach Studies (Part 1)

This variation is performed at the L.a. Dance Project by the company dancers. This https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr-1ePxBmpc particular film was done by Nowness in September of 2018.

Reviews on Bach Studies (Part 1)

• “ Bach Studies masterfully translates music into movement, resulting in a work that is at once technically sophisticated, delicate, and emotionally compelling.” – French May Arts Fest https://frenchmay.com/en/events/bac h-studies%e2%80%afby-benjaminmillepied/ • “and to almost every note there was a step.” – lilydance03 https://danceheartbeat.com/2018/05/02 /artistry-at-its-best-benjamin-millepiedsl-a-dance-project-review/

What did I appreciate most about Benjamin Millepied and his creations?

• I really enjoyed Mr. Millepied’s approach to creating works. I work very differently from him as I create works based off experience and emotions, and not the structure of music. I have done something like his approach in our dance composition class during our music study, but I created a solo on myself. I see how valuable his approach is, and I would like to explore his ideas more in choreographing on more than myself. I found his work so beautiful and really opened my eyes to a different method of creating!