Benjamin Millepied was born in Bordeaux, France. He began his ballet training at the age of eight with his mother, a former ballet dancer. Mr. Millepied entered the Conservatoire National in Lyon, France, at age 13, where he studied with Michel Rahn until he was 16 years old. He took summer classes at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in the summer of 1992 and returned with a scholarship from the French Ministry (Bourse Lavoisier) to study full-time in the fall of 1993. Mr. Millepied originated a principal role in Jerome Robbins’ world premiere of 2 & 3 Part Inventions set to music by Bach at SAB’s 1994 Spring Workshop. In 1994 he received the Prix de Lausanne Award, and in 1995, he was the recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise and was invited to become a member of New York City Ballet’s corps de ballet. Mr. Millepied was promoted to the rank of soloist in 1998 and to principal dancer in the spring of 2002.

At New York City Ballet, Mr. Millepied has danced featured roles in August Bournonville’s Bournonville Divertissements; George Balanchine’s Agon, Ballo della Regina, Chaconne, Coppélia (Frantz), Divertimento from “Le Baiser de la Fée,” George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, Jewels, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Sonnambula, La Source, Stars and Stripes, Symphony in C, Symphony in Three Movements, Tarantella, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Tschaikovsky Suite No. 3, Valse-Fantaisie, and Western Symphony; Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering, Fancy Free, Fanfare, The Four Seasons, Interplay, Piano Pieces, West Side Story Suite, and 2 & 3 Part Inventions; Peter Martins’ Ash, Fearful Symmetries, Jeu de Cartes, Quartet for Strings, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Tschaikovsky Pas de Quatre, and Zakouski; Richard Tanner’s Soirée; and Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel (A Dance) and Mercurial Manoeuvres. Mr. Millepied originated roles in Christopher d’Amboise’s Circle of Fifths, Mr. Martins’ Concerti Armonici and the New York City Ballet premieres of Hallelujah Junction and Swan Lake; Angelin Preljocaj’s La Stravaganza; Robbins’ Brandenburg and Les Noces; Helgi Tomasson’s Prism; and Mr. Wheeldon’s Slavonic Dances. For the tenth-anniversary season of the Diamond Project in 2002, Mr. Millepied originated roles in Melissa Barak’s If by Chance, Stephen Baynes’ Twilight Courante, and Mauro Bigonzetti’s Vespro.

Mr. Millepied has staged his choreography for his own performing group, Dances Concertantes, presenting original works several times at The Joyce Theater. He has choreographed for The Paris Opéra Ballet, and the Ballet de Génève among other places. He has also participated in several New York Choreographic Institute sessions. This is his second commissioned dance for New York City Ballet.

Composer and organist Thierry Escaich (b. 1965) studied at the National Music Conservatory in Paris where he earned eight First Prizes: in Harmony, Counterpoint, Fugue, Organ, Organ Improvisation, Analysis, Composition, and Orchestration.

His works have received various international prizes, such as the first André Jolivet Prize (1989) and most recently, the George Enesco Prize (1999). Mr. Escaich pursues a dual career as a concert organist and composer. After winning the improvisation grand prize at the Strasbourg International Competition in 1991, he was appointed organist at the church of St-Etienne-du-Mont in Paris 1997, succeeding Maurice Duruflé.

His concert programs feature the Romantic, symphonic, and contemporary repertoires, as well as the art of improvisation. In 1995, he received the Grand Prix de la Nouvelle Académie du Disque. In addition, he has been a guest at numerous festivals as well as numerous international organ academies such as those at Attenberg and Ingolstadt, where he represents the great French improvisation school.

Thierry Escaich has been a professor at the National Music Conservatory of Paris since October 1992. In 2003 and 2006, he won the Victoires de la Musique award in the “Composer of the Year” category.