Los Angeles Ballet sets shows

Los Angeles Ballet [LAB] presents its Spring repertoire, which will be performed February 22-March 15 at venues across Los Angeles, LAB Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary announced today. The repertoire features celebrated works of George Balanchine and a World Premiere by Los Angeles Ballet’s Melissa Barak.

Los Angeles Ballet will premiere Four Temperaments, Tarantella and Who Cares? The Four Temperaments is an epic Balanchine masterpiece set to a grand Hindemith score. The delightful, energetic pas de deux of Tarantella by Balanchine is danced to Gottschalk/Kay and Balanchine’s Who Cares? is scored to traditional American music by Gershwin/Kay. Los Angeles Ballet‘s Melissa Barak, who has choreographed for New York City Ballet, will debut a new World Premiere ballet.

For more information visit www.losangelesballet.org or call 310.998.7782.

**THE SPRING 2008
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE**

The Alex Theatre, Glendale
216 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, 91203
March 1, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Freud Playhouse, UCLA
405 Hilgard Avenue
Westwood, 90024
Feb. 22, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 23, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center
1935 Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Redondo Beach, 90278
March 15, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

About Los Angeles Ballet
Launched in 2006 by artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, Los Angeles Ballet enjoyed a successful first season as the city’s own professional ballet company focused on capturing the creative aesthetic unique to Southern California. Los Angeles Ballet is committed to bringing world class dance and great dancers to every corner of Southern California through performing at different venues accessible to communities across the city and presenting varied programs designed to appeal to a large and diverse base of fans who will grow to become devoted, supportive patrons.

The Company is a not-for-profit arts organization; Julie Whittaker is the Company’s executive director

About Melissa Barak
Melissa Barak was raised in Los Angeles, trained at the Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica, and was a scholarship student at the School of American Ballet. She joined New York City Ballet in 1998 and performed many leading roles with the company, including a principal in Christopher Wheeldon’s Klavier, Helena in George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and leads in The Four Temperaments, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. She recently became a member of the new Los Angeles Ballet. She began choreographing in 1997 and created a piece for the School of American Ballet Student Choreographic Workshop. She participated in the New York Choreographic Institute in 2000, 2003 and 2006, and has choreographed works for New York City Ballet and Choreographers on Pointe. In 2001 she received the Mae L. Wien Award for choreography and the Choo San Goh Choreographic Award.