Memoryhouse marked Melissa Barak’s first full-evening dance work as  LAB’s new Artistic Director. An abstract ballet composed of vignettes commemorating the Holocaust, Memoryhouse is set to Max Richter’s powerful album of the same name and reflects on the somber as well as more heroic moments that illuminate this devastating period in human history.

The ballet is choreographed to Richter's album in its entirety and in the order it was meant to be listened to. The ballet has 18 movements, totaling the number of tracks on the album.  Some movements connect with others while some live on their own. No alterations were made to the score, the electronic voices, sounds, and touches are part of the original recording.

Barak partnered with Hagy Belzberg, Founding Partner of BA Collective and the architect of The Holocaust Museum for set design, and Sebastian Peschiera of Narduli Studio for production and projection design. 

The premiere was originally planned for 2020, the 75th anniversary year of the end of the Holocaust. Melissa had returned from her trip to Germany and Poland and was well into the creative process when production was sidelined by the COVID pandemic. Memoryhouse marked its world premiere in 2023 at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica.