Benjamin Millepied

Benjamin Millepied was born in the French city of Bordeaux. He began dancing with his mother, a former modern dancer, when he was eight years old. Millepied began studying ballet under Michel Rahn at the Conservatoire National in Lyon, France, when he was 13 years old. In the summer of 1992, he moved to New York to study at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, and returned in the fall of 1993 on a French Ministry scholarship (Bourse Lavoisier) to study full-time.

At SAB's 1994 Spring Workshop, Millepied originated a lead role in Jerome Robbins' world premiere of 2 & 3 Part Inventions set to music by Bach. He got the Prix de Lausanne Award in 1994, the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise in 1995, and was invited to join the corps de ballet of New York City Ballet. In the spring of 2001, Millepied was promoted to principal dancer.

Mr. Millepied has received the French government's coveted Bourse Lavoisier Scholarship, the Prix de Lausanne, the SAB's Mae. L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise, and the United States Artists Wynn Fellow in Dance. The French Ministry of Culture bestowed the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters on him in 2010. Benjamin Millepied was appointed Director of the Paris Opera Ballet in January 2013.

Born: 1977
Nationality: Italian