American Icons
The Cage
Dilly Dilly
Pretty, Peculiar Things
Pretty, Peculiar
Things
Dilly Dilly
The Cage
LAB's ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Melissa Barak Barak is a former leading dancer with Los Angeles Ballet where she performed for five seasons commencing in 2006 and choreographed Lost In Transition in 2008. Her career also includes New York City Ballet (NYCB), where she performed in numerous works by George Balanchine, as well as originating roles in new ballets by Christopher Wheeldon, Elliot Feld and Robert Garland, among others.
LOS ANGELES BALLET
Read the history of the company from the premiere performances of LAB’s original production of The Nutcracker in 2006. Learn about LAB’s Leadership, Mission, Outreach initiatives, commissions of original works and more.
September 24–27, 2026
American Icons
The Cage Robbins | Stravinsky
Dilly Dilly Taylor | Ives
Pretty, Peculiar Things Barak | Abumrad
In honor of America at 250, American Icons celebrates legendary innovators in American dance and music. The program opens with Artistic Director Melissa Barak’s Pretty, Peculiar Things set to In C Remixed, a musical adaption by numerous American musicians to American composer Terry Riley’s ground-breaking work, In C. Written in 1964, In C stands as one of the most successful works by an American composer and a seminal example of minimalism in classical music.
Included in the program are two legendary American dancemakers, Jerome Robbins and Paul Taylor. Robbins’ The Cage takes the audience into an intense scene where a tribe of female insects prey on the male counterparts that enter their habitat. Premiering in 1951, The Cage stands till this day as a revolutionary work both in invention and abstract storytelling. Paul Taylor’s Dilly Dilly is also a masterclass in abstract storytelling where its cast of 11 dancers playfully frolic and romp to the famous tunes of American folk singer, Burl Ives.
Choreography
The Cage – Robbins | Stravinsky
Dilly Dilly – Taylor | Ives
Pretty, Peculiar Things – Barak | Abumrad
Music & Score
The Cage: Concerto in D for String Orchestra – Igor Stravinsky
Dilly Dilly: A medley of folk songs – Burl Ives
Pretty Peculiar Things: In C Remixed – Jad Abumrad, after Terry Riley’s In C
Run Time
Available shortly.
Perfomance Schedule
Schedule