Benjamin Millepied: Haut Vol
The Paris Opera Ballet takes flight above the French capital
“One can not come and shoot at Palais Garnier without marveling at the architecture, the atmosphere of this glorious theater from 1875,” says the Paris Opera Ballet’s Benjamin Millepied, of the ecstatic architectural-inspired piece directed by Louis de Caunes, featuring dancers Leonore Baulac and Alistair Madin. “I think Louis de Caunes was inspired by all he had in front of him. The dancing, the spaces, the light.” The historic institution—boasting the oldest resident ballet company in the world—last October named the French native its latest Director of Dance, who recently joined Russian model Natalia Vodianova on stage for her Annie Leibovitz-photographed Vogue cover shoot.
I am interested in making sure we are pushing ballet forward.
The contemporary electronic score of Haut Vol hints at a new modern direction under the onus of the L.A. Dance Project founder. “My first season will be announced in a month, and the first program will take place in September,” says Millepied. “I will bring in visual artists, filmmakers, cartoonists and fashion designers to create the visual language of our new productions. I am interested in making sure we are not only dancing the best ballets that exist but also pushing ballet forward with the creation of new works which make use of the classical vocabulary and feel relevant to our time.”
CONVERSATION