UPDATE: Read more about Melissa Barak's new ballet, SIMPLE SYMPHONY, in this New York Magazine article. Note the perfection of the photo by Kyle Froman which accompanies the story...his gift for capturing a sense of movement in a still photo is uncanny. And don't the dancers look super? Now I'm REALLY excited!
The Interview:
During the New York City Ballet's 2007 performances of SLEEPING BEAUTY, Melissa Barak stood out for her vivid dancing of the Fairy of Courage in the Prologue. A few days later she took on the very different role of the wicked Fairy Carabosse and made it very much her own. Melissa's double success caused much comment among the Company's core fans and we were all looking forward to seeing her take on more and higher-profile assignments with the Company...and then she left!
Since moving to New York City in 1998 and becoming a full-time fan of NYC Ballet I had learned to watch certain dancers in the corps as a way of learning more about the choreographic structure of various works - especially the Balanchine repertoire where the corps have so much do. Melissa was always a dancer I loved to watch: she had a sort of leadership quality, always so confident in both the steps and the style.
Aside from dancing, Melissa Barak has previously choreographed two ballets for NYC Ballet: TELEMANN OVERTURE SUITE IN E-MINOR and IF BY CHANCE set to music of Shostakovich. In these very contrasted works she showed a keen eye for structure in the first and for dramatic situation in the second as well as an insider's knowledge of which dancers to choose from among her colleagues to make her ballets look their best.
Since leaving NYC Ballet, Melissa has been dancing with Los Angeles Ballet. When I read that she would be choreographing a new work for NYCB's 2009 Winter season I asked her if she would answer some questions for my blog. After she responded to the queries via e-mail I chanced to run into her at the ballet one night and found her to be delightfully animated and candid.
So here is my interview with Melissa Barak:
Q. How did you first come to start taking ballet class? What came easiest to you as a dancer and what were some of the hardest things to master?
A. My mom got me into classes after witnessing me dance to every number in movies like Chorus Line, and other musicals. What's come easy to me is my performance ability, I've always been more of a performer than a technician.
Q. Did you think from the start: "I want to be a dancer when I grow up!" or did things just sort of evolve?
A. I definitely wanted to dance. Where, I didn't know; all I knew is I loved ballet and had to do it.
Q. Do you remember your first public performance?
A. I remember being about 5, and I was at a Russian restaurant with my immediate family and our cousins. My cousin Grisha was a performer at this place and called me up to the dance floor to perform an impromptu number to music I had never heard before. I was so nervous, but did it! I guess the first thing I ever danced, I choreographed as well!
Q. Who were some of the people involved in your formative years? Did you have any "ballet idols"?
A. I was obsessed with Christina Gibbs, a girl who took at Westside Ballet with me and was a few years older. She was my idol when I was younger, and is till this day a very close friend. I still look up to her actually!
Q. Tell us about coming to New York City and being at SAB.
Q. Did you think from the start: "I want to be a dancer when I grow up!" or did things just sort of evolve?
A. I definitely wanted to dance. Where, I didn't know; all I knew is I loved ballet and had to do it.
Q. Do you remember your first public performance?
A. I remember being about 5, and I was at a Russian restaurant with my immediate family and our cousins. My cousin Grisha was a performer at this place and called me up to the dance floor to perform an impromptu number to music I had never heard before. I was so nervous, but did it! I guess the first thing I ever danced, I choreographed as well!
Q. Who were some of the people involved in your formative years? Did you have any "ballet idols"?
A. I was obsessed with Christina Gibbs, a girl who took at Westside Ballet with me and was a few years older. She was my idol when I was younger, and is till this day a very close friend. I still look up to her actually!
Q. Tell us about coming to New York City and being at SAB.
A. Well, I got to NY and thought...this is it? I thought it was very dirty! But I soon began to love it. My first summer at SAB was a blast! It was the "real deal" and it was so exciting. The year long session however, was much more serious, and the first year I spent at SAB was a hard one. All of a sudden other girls were getting more attention than me and that was hurtful. I remember finding it frustrating that the teachers were trying to teach me HOW to dance. I didn't like that. The following year I returned to level D, the "reject" level back then. But I loved it, much more than C-2. In that level I felt more free to dance my way.
Q. You became an Apprentice at NYCB in 1997 and almost immediately were taken into the Corps. Tell us about that quick transition.
Q. You became an Apprentice at NYCB in 1997 and almost immediately were taken into the Corps. Tell us about that quick transition.
A. It was exciting! My dream had come true. I was in the same company as Wendy Whelan, Damian Woetzel, and Darci Kistler!
Q. I've often heard that dancers coming into NYCB are astounded by the sheer work-load. How was it for you? Your dancing always seems very assured and confident. Would you say learning ballets comes easily to you?
A. It definitely took me some time to adjust physically, to be able to withstand the work load. Learning ballets comes easy to me. At Westside, the studio I trained at in LA, we performed NUTCRACKERS and Spring Shows, so I was used to learning new material.
Q. What were some of the ballets you especially liked dancing at NYCB? Were there any choreographers or colleagues who particularly inspired you?
Q. I've often heard that dancers coming into NYCB are astounded by the sheer work-load. How was it for you? Your dancing always seems very assured and confident. Would you say learning ballets comes easily to you?
A. It definitely took me some time to adjust physically, to be able to withstand the work load. Learning ballets comes easy to me. At Westside, the studio I trained at in LA, we performed NUTCRACKERS and Spring Shows, so I was used to learning new material.
Q. What were some of the ballets you especially liked dancing at NYCB? Were there any choreographers or colleagues who particularly inspired you?
A. I loved Carabosse from SLEEPING BEAUTY, Arabian in NUTCRACKER, Russian in SWAN LAKE, America Girl in WEST SIDE STORY. There are so many roles I would have loved to have done though, that I feel I could have really owned. I was inspired by many dancers there; Miranda Weese, Jenifer Ringer, Wendy Whelan - all beautiful artists as well as dancers.
Q. When did you first think about working on choreography of your own?
A. When SAB announced a student choreography workshop in 1997.
10. Tell us about the Telemann; it started as a Choreographic Institute project if I recall correctly. How did it transition to NYCB? Were you surprised when Peter decided to bring it to the big stage? (It is one of my favorite ballets, by the way...I'd love to see it revived! It's very clean and pure.)
Q. When did you first think about working on choreography of your own?
A. When SAB announced a student choreography workshop in 1997.
10. Tell us about the Telemann; it started as a Choreographic Institute project if I recall correctly. How did it transition to NYCB? Were you surprised when Peter decided to bring it to the big stage? (It is one of my favorite ballets, by the way...I'd love to see it revived! It's very clean and pure.)
A. Thanks! I like it too, I'm surprised they haven't done it since! I made Telemann for SAB's June workshop performance. Peter told me he was going to put it into NYCB's rep that winter season before it even had it's premiere. I think it was all happening so fast, it was confusing. This sounds bad, but at the time I didn't care. It was cool and all, but I was a dancer. I wanted to be known for my dancing. I remember being very sad.
Q. You picked two of my favorite dancers for the leads in the Telemann and two more for the leads in IF BY CHANCE. Does working with dancers you know very well make choreographing easier?
Q. You picked two of my favorite dancers for the leads in the Telemann and two more for the leads in IF BY CHANCE. Does working with dancers you know very well make choreographing easier?
A. Working with dancers who "get it" makes choreographing easier.
Q. Tell us about moving from NYCB to Los Angeles Ballet in 2007.
Q. Tell us about moving from NYCB to Los Angeles Ballet in 2007.
A. It was a hard transition. It was very scary. NYCB was all I knew, but I knew if I wanted to accomplish my dream of showing the world what I can do as a dancer, I had to go somewhere else. I figured being in a smaller company would offer me more opportunity to dance meatier roles. Yet LA is such a big metropolis. I always wished LA had a major company. I grew up in LA, I love LA, and I like the challenge of bringing ballet to this city. I am so grateful I had the courage to leave. I am so happy now; ballet is new to me again! I've been given a second chance.
Q. How did the upcoming NYCB premiere first come up as a project? Tell us a little about it, the music you have chosen and the dancers you are working with.
Q. How did the upcoming NYCB premiere first come up as a project? Tell us a little about it, the music you have chosen and the dancers you are working with.
A. Peter wrote me a very sweet letter, inviting me to come back to do a new piece. Needless to say, I was so happy. Not just because I was to do a new piece, but to still feel welcomed by him, and to feel like NYCB is still a home to me. It's set to Benjamin Britten's A Simple Symphony. Twelve dancers in all. I am working with a great cast!
Q. In creating a new work, do you usually start with an idea and then find music to use or do you hear a piece of music and start thinking of people dancing to it?
Q. In creating a new work, do you usually start with an idea and then find music to use or do you hear a piece of music and start thinking of people dancing to it?
A. Usually find music I really like, see a ballet to it, and figure which dancers would be most suited.
Q. What is your general style of working? Do you come in with the choreography pretty much set in your mind or is it a more experimental situation?
Q. What is your general style of working? Do you come in with the choreography pretty much set in your mind or is it a more experimental situation?
A. A combination of both.
Q. Even though you haven't really been gone that long, there's a lot of new faces at NYCB now. How does it feel to be back?
Q. Even though you haven't really been gone that long, there's a lot of new faces at NYCB now. How does it feel to be back?
A. So good! I am close with so many people here. They still feel like family to me!
Q. What are your plans beyond the upcoming premiere? Will you be dancing with Los Angeles Ballet? Do you ever feel like moving back to NYC?
Q. What are your plans beyond the upcoming premiere? Will you be dancing with Los Angeles Ballet? Do you ever feel like moving back to NYC?
A. I see myself sticking with LAB right now. I believe in the directors and the company. I want to see it become a major company in the US. I'm proud and excited to be a part of it. I do miss NYC at times, for sure. I'd love to eventually be able to afford a place in both LA and NY. I definitely feel I need both energies in my life.
Q. What's the worst or funniest thing that ever happened to you onstage?
Q. What's the worst or funniest thing that ever happened to you onstage?
A. A NUTCRACKER performance I did with Jared Angle. We did Sugarplum in Rockland County when we were students at SAB, and it was a super early show, and we were both nauseous from bad Chinese the night before. Basically everything that could have gone wrong, did! Till this day, that goes down as our worst, yet funniest performance experience. Also the first time I did monsters in FIREBIRD. I laughed so hard I thought for sure Rosemary was going to come up and yell at me afterward.
Q: When I ran into you at NYCB a couple weeks ago, you told me some exciting news: that you would be dancing the role of the Siren in PRODIGAL SON with Los Angeles Ballet in March. Tell us about preparing this iconic Balanchine role.
A: Patricia Neary came and staged PRODIGAL on us. She was wonderful to work with: very specific, with such a knowledge and appreciation of the ballet. It was so special to have her share that with us. The Siren is such a fabulous part. It's acting, but not really. It must be done very subtly. I find that you must show two different characters at the same time: one of you is powerful, erotic and elusive...and the other shameful and sinister. You're lying to the Son, essentially. You're deceiving an innocent young man. It's heartbreaking. I want to find a place in the ballet where I can show a bit of remorse. I love acting roles and analyzing characters, so I feel pretty comfortable with the Siren. I can't wait to perform her! And our Son is so great: Eddy Tovar, who guests with us. [Tovar is a young Cuban dancer with Orlando Ballet. Photo of Melissa and Eddy above].
Q: When are the performances?
A: March 7th at The Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, March 14th at The Broad Stage and March 21st at the Alex in Glendale.
Q. What do you like to do when you aren't dancing/choreographing?
Q: When I ran into you at NYCB a couple weeks ago, you told me some exciting news: that you would be dancing the role of the Siren in PRODIGAL SON with Los Angeles Ballet in March. Tell us about preparing this iconic Balanchine role.
A: Patricia Neary came and staged PRODIGAL on us. She was wonderful to work with: very specific, with such a knowledge and appreciation of the ballet. It was so special to have her share that with us. The Siren is such a fabulous part. It's acting, but not really. It must be done very subtly. I find that you must show two different characters at the same time: one of you is powerful, erotic and elusive...and the other shameful and sinister. You're lying to the Son, essentially. You're deceiving an innocent young man. It's heartbreaking. I want to find a place in the ballet where I can show a bit of remorse. I love acting roles and analyzing characters, so I feel pretty comfortable with the Siren. I can't wait to perform her! And our Son is so great: Eddy Tovar, who guests with us. [Tovar is a young Cuban dancer with Orlando Ballet. Photo of Melissa and Eddy above].
Q: When are the performances?
A: March 7th at The Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, March 14th at The Broad Stage and March 21st at the Alex in Glendale.
Q. What do you like to do when you aren't dancing/choreographing?
A. I love cooking now that I have a real kitchen to work in! I love spending time with my cat, hanging out with friends, doing yoga, going to spa retreats with my sister. I have yet to get back into ceramics... just haven't made it to a studio yet.
Q. If you hadn't become a dancer, what might you have done as a career?
Q. If you hadn't become a dancer, what might you have done as a career?
A. Either interior design or event planning. I'd like to also say veterinarian, but I'd probably be an emotional wreck.
Q. Is there a quote or thought that you find especially meaningful?
Q. Is there a quote or thought that you find especially meaningful?
A. Man, there are so many! I'm not religious, but you gotta love the Serenity Prayer..."God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; and the Wisdom to know the difference."
You have described watching Barak in the corps very well with "leadership quality". I used to be drawn to her as a dancer and I wondered where she went after leaving New York City Ballet. Thank you for writing about her.
Posted by: Nina | February 12, 2009 at 07:45 AM
What a lovely interview! I am glad Melissa is expanding her horizons and getting to dance some new roles at LAB. I imagine working in the Corps of NYCB is good in the sense that you get to dance every night and they have long seasons. But it must be nice to break out of that mold and go to a company where you are given the spotlight. I look forward to seeing Melissa's new ballet!
Posted by: Laura | February 12, 2009 at 08:55 AM
Great interview, Philip! I haven't seen any of her work yet, but I'm intrigued by her interest in classical composers (Telemann, Shostakovich) that are rarely choreographed to. I hope to see her work sometime!
Posted by: jolene | February 12, 2009 at 11:39 AM
Melissa does have a knack for picking music; I look forward to seeing what she will do with the Britten. She told me it has a classic feel, and there will be tutus!
Posted by: Philip | February 12, 2009 at 12:27 PM
Excellent interview, Philip! You're so good at them. It's always fun -- and enlightening -- to hear dancers talk about their favorite ballets, the people who inspired them, and their own work. I can't wait to see her new ballet next week!
Posted by: tonya | February 12, 2009 at 02:21 PM
I found this page while doing one of my frequent searches for news of performances of the music of Benjamin Britten. I hope to attend a performance of the new ballet which is set to one of Britten's early works. In the 1960s my late life-partner and I made two journeys to the Aldeburgh Festival. I am always looking for opportunities of hearing Britten's music and have long thought that the Simple Symphony could translate into a dance work, as could many of his compositions.
Posted by: Theo | February 13, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Theo, thank you for stopping by my blog. The story of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears is one of the most fascinating in the history of music. And the Aldeburgh Festival must have been a particularly exciting place to be during the composer's lifetime. I hope the new ballet will be to your liking.
Posted by: Philip | February 13, 2009 at 11:02 AM
It's always such a pleasure to read about Melissa Barak, a dancer I first saw when she was about 12 and did "Pas de Quatre" in a Westside Ballet spring show. I'm looking forward to seeing her Siren on March 14 (Los Angeles Ballet's "Prodigal Son"). I hope "Simple Symphony" comes to the West Coast!
Posted by: Anne Pautler | February 19, 2009 at 01:10 AM