Los Angeles Ballet (LAB) is a

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as en pointe, pointe work, turnout (ballet), turnout of the legs, ...

company based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. While rehearsals take place at the Los Angeles Ballet Center, the company tours its performances to venues across the metropolitan area, including the

Dolby Theatre The Dolby Theatre (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) is a live-performance auditorium in the Ovation Hollywood shopping mall and entertainment complex, on Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue (Los Angeles), Highland Avenue, in the Holly ...

Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Pasadena Convention Center is a convention center in Pasadena, California, United States. It consists of three buildings. Pasadena Civic Auditorium The Civic Auditorium, one of the major structures in the Pasadena Civic Center District, was ...

, and

Royce Hall Royce Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Designed by the Los Angeles firm of Allison & Allison (James Edward Allison, 1870–1955, and his brother David Clark Allison, 1881–1962) and completed ...

. A typical LAB season consists of Tchaikovsky's

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

, a large or storybook ballet, and a mixed repertoire performance. The company was founded and co-directed by husband-and-wife team Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, and founding executive director Julie Whittaker. The company debuted December 2006 with an original production of ''

.'' In 2022,

Melissa Barak Melissa Barak (born August 9, 1979, in Los AngelesState of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905–1995'' (Sacramento, CA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics).) is a choreographer and ballerina. ...

became the Artistic Director of the company.

History

The original Los Angeles Ballet was founded in 1974 under the direction of John Clifford, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet. Eleven years later, in 1985, financial difficulties forced Clifford's company to close. Two decades later, in 2004, a new Los Angeles Ballet was established by Co-Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, and executive director Julie Whittaker. The company debuted in December 2006, with an original production of ''The Nutcracker'', choreographed by Christensen and Neary, featuring costumes commissioned by Christensen from the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet ( Danish: ''Den Kongelige Ballet'') is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world a ...

and a Southern California-themed set designed by Catherine Kanner. LAB continues to host performances of ''The Nutcracker'' annually. In 2009, LAB presented Bournonville's ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

'', its first full-length classical story ballet after ''The Nutcracker''. At the end of nine seasons it presented 28 productions encompassing 50 works, including 15 commissioned world premieres. In addition to its repertoire of well-known classical ballets, Los Angeles Ballet has also commissioned several new works, one developed out of LAB's Choreographic Workshop, its mission to identify and nurture Southern Californian choreographic talent. In 2017, Los Angeles Ballet Orchestra, under the direction of internationally renowned conductor

Andrea Quinn Andrea Quinn (born 22 December 1964) is an English conductor. Biography Quinn is a graduate of Nottingham University and of the Royal Academy of Music. In 1993, Quinn won the Royal Opera House's "Conduct for Dance" competition, and has since th ...

debuted with ''The Nutcracker'' at the Dolby Theatre. In 2022, Melissa Barak was appointed as the Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Ballet. 2023 marked her full inaugural season with the company.

Artistic staff

Artistic directors

Thordal Christensen and his wife, Colleen Neary, are the founding directors of the ballet. Christensen was a former

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

for and artistic director of the

, with Neary appointed as the ‘first ballet mistress’ in charge of their productions. Neary was a principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet and a Soloist with

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

under

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

, and is currently a repetiteur for The George Balanchine Trust. Melissa Barak is the current Artistic Director for the Los Angeles Ballet. She has previously danced with both the Los Angeles Ballet and the New York City Ballet, as well as serving as the Artistic Director for her own Los Angeles-based ballet company, Barak Ballet.

Dancers

The company consists of 24 company dancers and 2 apprentices. LAB holds local and virtual auditions annually. Currently the company is working as a non-ranked company.

Company

* Shintaro Akana * Marco Biella * Bryce Broedell * Natalia Burns * Sarah-Ashley Chicola * Cassidy Cocke * Poppy Coleman * Simon Zinabu Costello * John Dekle * Brigitte Edwards * Lilly Fife * Aviva Gelfer-Mundl * Abigail Gross * Kate Inoue * Anna Jacobs * Julianne Kinasiewicz * Lilly Leech * Marcos Ramirez * Cesar Ramirez Castellano * Jake Ray * Jacob Soltero * Cleo Taneja * Jonas Tutaj * Paige Wilkey Apprentices * Taylor Hugens * Lilly Olvera

Former members

Former dancers

Lana Condor Lana Therese Condor (born Trần Đồng Lan; May 11, 1997) is an American actress and YouTuber. She made her acting debut starring as Jubilee (comics), Jubilee in the superhero film ''X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016), and gained international recogni ...

* Craig Hall * Bianca Bulle * Corina Gill * Sarah Hay * Kelly Ann Sloan * Allynne Noelle * Petra Conti * Eris Nezha * Chelsea Page Johnston * Joshua Brown * Abby Callahan * Brittany Cavaco * Alyssa Harrington * Jay Markov *

SarahAnne Perel SarahAnne Perel is an American ballerina. Since 2024, she has danced with the Miami City Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet. Perel was formerly a dancer with Carolina Ballet and Los Angeles Ballet. Early life, education, and training Pe ...

* Carolynn Rowland

Repertoire

LAB's repertoire focuses on various works and styles; including Balanchine masterpieces and beloved story ballets. Starting in 2023, an emphasis on bold new works became an additional centerpiece to LAB's core artistic mission. Barak premiered her full evening work, ''Memoryhouse'' in June 2023 at The Broad Stage. The work returns to the stage in the upcoming 24/25 Season at the Wallis Annenberg Performing Arts Center in Beverly Hills. ''Off Balance'', a new, experimental program series launches in the 24/25 Season.

Programs

LAB has two arts programs. “Power of Performance”, or "POP", was founded with LAB's inception, providing free tickets to disadvantaged children, seniors, veterans, and their families. LAB also sponsors ‘A Chance to Dance Community Day’, launched in October 2012. An all-ages event, the public is encouraged to participate in free ballet, hip-hop, Yoga, Pilates and various other dance/fitness classes. The program serves approximately 200 participants every year.

Los Angeles Ballet Center

Located on the Westside of Los Angeles, the LA Ballet Center spans 12,000 square feet, incorporating three studios and multiple offices.

References

External links

Los Angeles Ballet website
{{authority control Ballet companies in the United States 2006 establishments in California Culture of Los Angeles Performing groups established in 2006 Dance in California