Benjamin Millepied Tackles the Arts in Dark Times

PARIS — Dance choreographer Benjamin Millepied is not one to sugarcoat a storyline. To start with, for anyone with romantic notions about what it’s like to run an arts center — the L.A. Dance Project, in his case — he’ll quickly set you straight.  “It’s mission impossible,” he says, referring to financial challenges. Government support for the arts is dwindling in the political climate, while a growing sense of urgency around social inequality and environmental issues has made it harder to secure private funds in other areas.  Millepied, in a crisp, white shirt, his youthful face framed by a trimly cut beard, spoke to WWD from a sofa tucked behind displays of chunky, Renaissance-inspired high jewelry sets from Van Cleef & Arpels. The jeweler had outfitted a hall just off the Place Vendôme to evoke a plush, Italian courtyard for its “Romeo and Juliet” theme, with colorful, floor-to-ceiling balcony scenes drawn by Lorenzo Mattotti, while Millepied’s dancers were projected on a screen in black and white. “It’s hard. It’s hard for me, which means it’s also impossible for others,” he says, mindful of his unusual position as a choreographer with a renown that extends beyond the dance world. Building a reputation as a

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