Millepied's New Company

A month after retiring from New York City Ballet,  Benjamin Millepied is launching a new dance company in California, called L.A. Dance Project. He has a commission, expected to last for two years, from the Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. Millepied previously had a pick-up troupe (called both Danses Concertantes and Benjamin Millepied & Company) in which he used NYCB and American Ballet Theatre dancers during their summer breaks. But right now seems to be his shining moment: After choreographing Black Swan last year, his work has been popping up in ballet company programs all over the world, he’s gotten engaged to Natalie Portman, he’s become the face of Yves Saint Laurent’s fragrance l’homme libre. Basically, he’s unstoppable.

He told the LA Times that he’s planning for L.A. Dance Project to be more of an art collective than a traditional company, bringing together artists of all genres and hopefully working on projects such as a site-specific piece at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Millepied’s looking to hire six dancers for the first show. The repertoire will include a Millepied premiere, plus Merce Cunninham’s Winterbranch and William Forsythe’s Quintett. Rehearsals will take place in the spring and summer in Los Angeles, followed by an international tour.

Auditions are being held today from 11 am to 3 pm at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. For more information, go here.