For Benjamin Millepied, the famous French dancer and choreographer, America could probably be regarded as his land of promise.

He started his career when he moved to the US at the age of 16 to join the School of American Ballet and gradually built up his reputation during his 16 years at New York City Ballet from 1995 to 2011. It is also in the US where he met his wife, the film star Natalie Portman.

In 2011, he founded L.A. Dance Project (LADP), and began transferring the center of his career to Los Angeles, where his wife resides.

LADP is an independent dance troupe assembling not only dancers and choreographers, but also visual artists, musicians, graphic designers and movie makers.

On June 5, LADP will make its Shanghai debut at the Shanghai Grand Theatre with a show consisting of three productions, Reflections, Morgan's Last Chug and Quintett.

"The American way of life was so exhilarating and liberating and made me excited very much. Dance should also give people the impression of freedom," Millepied told the Global Times. "Being a classically-trained dancer, I am not interested in boring dance conventions, but fascinated by many different art forms. It is through collaborations with other artists that I was able to achieve the most satisfying results."

As a dancer and choreographer, Millepied said that he is always incredibly inspired by working closely with composers, artists and designers. For him, choreography, music and stage design need not be separate, but part of what he calls an "integral creative process."

A scene from Reflections Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Grand Theatre

A mix of disciplines

Charles Fabius, the current producer of LADP and co-founder with Millepied, told the Global Times that the main aim of their troupe is to make dance relevant to new audiences by commissioning new dance works, films and publications while also reviving important historic dance works.

The three productions for LADP's Shanghai show illustrate the troupe's ideals.

Commissioned by the jewelers Van Cleef & Arpels, Reflections was choreographed by Millepied in 2013 together with composer David Lang and visual artist Barbara Kruger.

"It is a perfect example of one of my collaborative pieces," Millepied said.

Kruger designed two giant boards for the stage set. Both feature white capitalized letters on a red background. One has the single word, "STAY," on it, erected at the back of the stage, while the other, bearing the words, "THINK OF ME THINKING OF YOU," covers the whole floor.

"Kruger's artwork captures the sensuality and longing of the dance," Millepied said. "She had never worked on a piece for the stage before. I invited her to come to our studio and just watch the dancers in rehearsal. She did and she got hooked."

The music of Reflections comes from one of David Lang's solo piano albums, This Was Written By Hand / Memory Pieces. Andrew Zolinsky, professor of piano from the Royal College of Music, will play it live during the performance.

Morgan's Last Chug is the work of another French contemporary choreographer, Emanuel Gat. Commissioned by LADP, Gat spent the whole summer of 2013 in Los Angeles, working each day with the dancers.

According to Fabius, Gat and the dancers created a colorful ensemble work with a special sound score featuring music from Bach, Henry Purcell and a monologue from Samuel Beckett's play, Krapp's Last Tape.

Benjamin Millepied

Classical revival

The third production, Quintett, is LADP's tribute to William Forsythe, an American dancer and choreographer based in Germany. Forsythe is internationally famous for his integration of ballet, visual arts, installations, film, and videos.

As an elegy for his wife, Forsythe created Quintett in 1993. His wife was still alive at that time, though terminally ill. Forsythe wanted the piece to serve as a final love letter to her before she died.

The title, Quintett, is the German spelling of "quintet." The score of the work is from a composition by British composer Gavin Bryars, Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet.

In Fabius' opinion, Quintett is one of the most influential works of the 20th century. "William Forsythe even personally coached our dancers," Fabius said. "The dancers' deep emotions and exceptional skills evoked and developed the themes of Gavin Bryars's music, that is, loss, hope, fear and joy."

A scene from Reflections

Biggest fan

Millepied also recalled his initial meeting with Portman, while both were working on the film, Black Swan.

Millepied said that in the movie, Portman completely immersed herself in the world of a professional dancer. "Of course, I created the look and the choreography especially for her. And she kept her character as close as possible to that of a real ballerina. Since then, she has become my biggest fan whenever I have a new work coming up," he said.

Millepied said that after Black Swan, he and his family drew more attention from the public, and the media attention in Los Angeles could become quite invasive.

"Now, we have learned how to deal with it," he said. "We always make sure to protect our personal life, especially that of our young boy, who is wonderful."

In September this year, Millepied will return to his homeland to take on the role of director of the Paris Opera Ballet.

Date: June 5, 7:30 pm

Venue: Shanghai Grand Theatre

上海大剧院

Address: 300 People's Avenue

人民大道300号

Tickets: 120 to 580 yuan

Call 6386-8686 for details