Memoryhouse

Los Angeles Ballet is known for its superb stagings of the Balanchine repertory, stylistically meticulous classical ballets, and its commitment to new works. Founded in 2004 by Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary Artistic Directors Emeriti, and Julie Whittaker Executive Director Emerita, LAB is recognized as a world-class ballet company.  

Los Angeles Ballet is the city’s only resident professional classical ballet company. LAB tours throughout LA County, regularly appearing at multiple venues. This model is strategic, and part of LAB’s mission to serve all communities, responding to the geographic challenges of Southern California by traveling to audiences. LAB venues include Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Royce Hall at UCLA, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, the historic Alex Theatre in Glendale, and The Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Los Angeles Ballet offers two outstanding arts education outreach programs. Since 2006, LAB’s Power of Performance (POP!) program has provided 50,000 free tickets to underserved or disadvantaged children, seniors, veterans, and their families. LAB’s A Chance to Dance was launched in 2012, and offers free ballet classes, alternative dance/fitness classes, and lectures/demonstrations taught by company Dancers.

Melissa Barak is a choreographer and former professional dancer with New York City Ballet (NYCB) and Los Angeles Ballet. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Barak began her ballet training at the age of eight at Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica, California under the direction of Yvonne Mounsey and Rosemary Valaire. Her training continued in New York City at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of NYCB. In 1998, Barak was invited to join NYCB where she performed in numerous works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins as well as originating roles in new ballets by Christopher Wheeldon, Elliot Feld, and Robert Garland among others.

Barak began exploring her choreographic talents throughout her time at SAB and NYCB. At the age of 21, she premiered her work Telemann Overture Suite in E Minor at the SAB June Workshop performance that quickly followed up with encore performances on NYCB the following season. Later that year another choreographic commission was offered by NYCB for their prestigious Diamond Project making her, at the time, the youngest choreographer to create an original work on the company. She has created new works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Richmond Ballet, Dayton Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, and Barak Ballet, a Los Angeles based contemporary ballet company she founded in 2013. She has had the honor of choreographing on dance luminaries including Sara Mearns, Tiler Peck, Justin Peck, Benjamin Millepied, and Robert Fairchild. In 2009 and 2010, she was invited to return to the New York City Ballet where she created two more works, A Simple Symphony and Call Me Ben respectively. Her film and commercial credits include original choreography for Mattel’s feature film Barbie in the Pink Shoes, Xayron in Hungary, Illusions in China, and a Samsung commercial working alongside director Mark Romanek. Melissa has been awarded the Mae L. Wein and Choo San Goh awards for Outstanding Choreography and has been named a Dance Magazine “Top 25 to Watch”. She was also the inaugural recipient of the Virginia B. Toulmin Fellowship for Women Choreographers through Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU.

Barak had placed her focus on building Barak Ballet over the past 10 years. As she assumes the role of Artistic Director, she looks forward to building on that vision to an exciting future for Los Angeles Ballet.