Not your usual Shakespeare

LA DANCE PROJECT doesn’t do things by the rules. The company is bringing Romeo & Juliet Suite to the Center and it’s going to be a different story than you’ve been used to.

Company founder and choreographer Benjamin Millepied has created a contemporary vision of the world’s most famous love story. He navigates between cinema, dance, and theater, reinterpreting Shakespeare’s fated couple as young adults in an urban environment. Each performance will feature a different cast and highlight diverse couples: It can be male/female, female/female or male/ male, reflecting our time and making the production a universal celebration of love.

“This one-of-a-kind interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic allowed me to feel the most empathy I have ever felt for the characters of Romeo and Juliet,” says LA Dance Chronicle. “It was a complete rediscovery of a familiar tale, which transformed it from overdone to timeless once again.”

On stage and off, the plot unfolds using a unique projection system. Some of the action is broadcast in real time from unexpected places inside the theater and backstage as the dancers pass from stage to screen and back. The audience might see Romeo on screen at the loading dock while at the same time they see Juliet (in real life) entering the stage. Millepied presents this mythical take through a modern prism, embellished by Prokofiev’s beautiful music.

“I love the idea of using dance, live performance and cinematographic images to express a timeless story that really speaks to the audience,” says Millepied. “This production creates a comprehensive artistic experience while echoing current social issues, all with a cast that changes from night to night.”

“Millepied’s choreography is full of life,” says the Los Angeles Times. “Ballet steps and street steps and quirky outof-nowhere steps all seeming part of the same dance vocabulary.”

Frenchman Millepied is a dancer, choreographer and filmmaker. He danced with New York City Ballet for 16 years and in 2010, choreographed and starred in the film Black Swan. In 2012 he founded LA Dance Project.

In 2014 he was appointed director of dance at Paris Opera Ballet. This big job included commissioning works by renowned choreographers including William Forsythe, Justin Peck, and Wayne McGregor. But two years later he resigned, wanting to focus on his vision for LA Dance Project. Now just a decade old, the company’s repertoire includes new creations by Millepied, historical reconstructions and multidisciplinary collabs with visual artists, musicians, filmmakers, and composers. It has been around the world, performing in the U.S., Europe, Dubai, Shanghai, and Beijing.

This will be LA Dance Project’s debut engagement at the Center. Don’t miss this opportunity to see a classic tale in a way the New Yorker calls “Startling, dazzling and wrenching in equal measure.”.

Segerstrom Hall

May 12–14 | Tickets start at $29