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Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Paige Wilkey Hometown Los Angeles, CA Seasons with LAB 3 Seasons with LAB Paige began her ballet training at the age of three in Los Angeles. She trained year-round with the Boston Ballet School as a Professional Division student before joining Oregon Ballet Theatre, where she danced for five seasons. In 2021, Paige joined American Contemporary Ballet, performing principal roles before joining Los Angeles Ballet in 2023. Some of Paige’s favorite roles and performances in her career so far have been with Los Angeles Ballet, including the title role in Yuri Possokhov’s Firebird and the Arbenita pas de deux in Melissa Barak’s Memoryhouse .

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Evan Gorbell Hometown Boca Raton, FL Seasons with LAB 1 Season with LAB Evan Gorbell trained at Miami City Ballet in the pre-professional program. In 2021, Evan joined Sarasota Ballet as an apprentice, was promoted to the Corps de Ballet in 2022, and became a Soloist in 2023. He has danced ballets choreographed by George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Edwaard Liang, and Jessica Lang. Evan joined the Los Angeles Ballet in 2025, where he performed as the Prince in Liang’s Cinderella. Some of his favorite roles include Melancholic in Balanchine’s Four Temperaments, Fourth Movement Principal in Balanchine’s Western Symphony, and Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room.

Los Angeles Ballet offers two subscription opportunities for the 2021/2022 Season: Full-Season Subscription and Choose-2 Subscription. Patrons receive the best pricing and best seating of the Season offered before single tickets are on-sale. Become a Subscriber / DOWNLOAD SEASON BROCHURE Become a Subscriber Thank you for your request to Subscribe to the 2021/2022 Season. Please provide the following information and the Los Angeles Ballet Box Office will contact you to assist you with your Subscription details. Please select the Subscription Included a ticket to The Nutcracker, Bloom and The Sleeping Beauty First Name Last Name Email Phone Number Address Choose 2 Subscription Select Bloom The Sleeping Beauty What Section of the House are you interested in?  Section A – Center Orchestra Section B – Front Orchestra, Prime Balcony Section C – Main Orchestra, Balcony Circle Section D – Orchestra Ring, Balcony Center Section E – Balcony Side, Rear Balcony, Rear Orchestra Undecided Number of Adults Number of Children Please include any additional information and any special accommodations such as wheelchair seating. SUBMIT Full Season Subscription

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Sarah Hurty Hometown Seasons with LAB 1 Season with LAB Available shortly

Founded during Los Angeles Ballet’s 2009/20210 Season, the Los Angeles Ballet Guild has two arms: Patrons of the Guild (fundraising) and Corps de Guild (volunteer). Membership at both levels is critical to the health of LAB, with the Guild providing a vital link between Los Angeles Ballet leadership and the broader Southern California community. The Guild is philanthropic, creative, entrepreneurial, and industrious. All are welcome to become involved. Membership Home / Membership / Membership Circles Fall in love with dance. LAB’s Membership Circles are donor benefits designed to build a community through a shared love of ballet and to provide a deeper appreciation of the artform through unique experiences and exclusive content. With backstage tours, visits to company classes, and access to digital newsletters, there is something for everyone. We hope you join today by making a tax-deductible membership gift. Your support inspires us; in return, we strive to inspire you! Why Give As a member, you also ensure the transformative power of ballet remains accessible to underserved communities across LA County. LAB donates 10% of tickets each season, free of charge, to over 50 local social service organizations and offers monthly free dance classes to all age groups and levels taught by LAB company dancers. With your membership support, we can expand our efforts to bring the magic of dance to this city of angels! We hope you join today and enjoy our exclusive membership offerings curated just for you! BECOME A MEMBER TODAY! VIEW LEVELS & BENEFITS 2024 Membership Event Calendar March Ballet Salon Barak & Bowers Member Newsletter - Winter April Members Only Pricing to Annual Gala May Firebird/Serenade Studio Rehearsal June Member Newsletter - Summer September Season 19 Welcome Dinner October View Company Class Member Newsletter - Fall November Members Only Pricing to Nutcracker Tea! December The Nutcracker Final Rehearsal & Champagne Reception @ Dolby Theater The Nutcracker Backstage Experience @ Dolby Theater Questions Contact Danielle Bearden-Mead Director of Development at 310.477.7411 x 1006 or Dbeardenmead@losangelesballet.org LAB’s Membership Circles are a tax-deductible donation, we do not offer refunds. LOS ANGELES BALLET Repertoire Learn about the comprehensive and varied seasons of Los Angeles Ballet since its debut in 2006. Repertoire includes Balanchine masterworks, stylistically meticulous classical ballets, commissioned and contemporary works by renowned local and international choreographers. VIEW REPERTOIRE LOS ANGELES BALLET History Read the history of the Company and learn about LAB’s Leadership, Mission, and Community Outreach initiatives. LAB HISTORY

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Sarah-Ashley Chicola Hometown Westfield, NJ Seasons with LAB 3 Seasons with LAB Sarah-Ashley trained at American Ballet Theater’s JKO program, Manhattan Youth Ballet, and was then invited to attend Miami City Ballet School with a full scholarship, where she performed alongside the company. After graduating in 2021, she joined BalletMet 2, where she danced for two seasons. Since joining LAB in 2023, she has performed the featured roles of Cinderella in Liang’s Cinderella , Marie in The Nutcracker , Russian Girl in Balanchine’s Serenade , The Princess in Possokov’s Firebird . She has been featured in neoclassical ballets by Melissa Barak and Justin Peck.

LAB’s signature holiday fundraiser in support of our Outreach and Education Programs is an afternoon tea party experience for guests of all ages, culminating in a special presentation of scenes from The Nutcracker. 2025/2026 Season / Nutcracker Tea FAQ / FAQ Nutcracker Tea! Occupancy Is this an Indoor Event? – Yes! As in the past, Nutcracker Tea! will take place inside the 2nd Floor Astor Ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria, Beverly Hills Guests will ride an elevator to the 2nd Floor and be escorted directly to their designated table Your table will include only your guests (see below) Access to Upstairs Lobby will be limited How many Total Guests are at each performance? Capacity is reduced by approximately 20% this year Current layout is for 94 seats, with a maximum capacity of 108 We anticipate having no more than 120 individuals (including staff and dancers) in the Ballroom at one time Seating What is the Maximum Number household/pod seated at one table? There will be only one party seated at each table Upon arrival, guests will be escorted directly to their table What are the Sizes of the tables ? There are 3 sizes of tables: Bistro Table can seat 1, 2 or 3 guests 6ft Banquet Table can seat 4, 5, or 6 guests 66” Round Gala Table can seat 7, 8, 9, or 10 guests Social Distancing How is LAB Managing Traffic Flow and providing for social distancing this year? Upon entrance, guests will be escorted directly to their assigned tables Crafts will be done at your table (see below) Before the program, children will be invited up to the stage, and each will have a special spot upon which to sit and watch Are we doing Crafts this year? Yes! This year we are eliminating the craft room – but not the crafts! Crafts will be wrapped individually and placed at your place-setting for each child (or adult who wants one) to create at their seat Materials will not be shared There will be no glue or mess How will LAB manage social distancing during Boutique, Shopping, Mystery Boxes, Pics with Santa & Nutcracker characters, etc? The lobby area is where many activities take place Access to lobby will be controlled Will LAB invite children up to the Stage for Performance? As in the past, before the dance portion of the program, children will be invited up to the stage Each child will have a special spot upon which to sit and watch the performance excerpts from The Nutcracker Will children be allowed to Dance with the Characters from The Nutcracker this year? Artistic Directors, Colleen and Thordal are strategizing the safest way to enable your children to interact with the LAB dancers Personal Safety LAB and Waldorf Astoria, BH will adhere to the most current COVID 19 mandates as assigned by the State and County. Please visit current guidelines at https://coronavirus.lacity.org Will we be required to wear Masks? At this time, we anticipate that masks will be required for all guests and staff You will be able to remove your mask while sitting at your table Will we be required to show Proof of Vaccination or Negative COVID test? Proof of Vaccination or negative test within 72 hours of event may be required in accordance with the CDC Guidelines Air Filtration What Air Filtration System is used at the Waldorf Astoria, Beverly Hills? Below are the Air Filtration Steps the Waldorf Astoria, BH uses to ensure safety: Outside fresh air first enters through air-handler system located on rooftop The rooftop air-handler unit uses two-stage filtration. MERV 8 pre-filter traps 90% of airborne particles, followed by MERV 13 final filter which traps 98% of airborne particles Event Space: Fresh air from rooftop air-handler (MERV 13) is supplied to event space and is mixed with fresh air from additional filters (MERV 8). Each space has dedicated filters and do not interconnect Guest Rooms : Fresh air from rooftop air-handler (MERV 13) is supplied to guestroom and is mixed with fresh air from additional filter located above balcony doors (MERV 8). Each guestroom has dedicated filters and do not interconnect with other guestrooms

The Sleeping Beauty 2015 Christensen and Neary after Petipa / Tchaikovsky Allyssa Bross as Aurora Allynne Noelle as The Lilac Fairy Fairy Ensemble Colleen Neary as Carabosse Allyssa Bross with LAB Ensemble Allynne Noelle Kenta Shimizu as Prince Desire & Allynne Noelle as The Lilac Fairy Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Bianca Bulle as The Diamond Julia Cinquemani as Princess Florine Julia Cinquemani as Princess Florine & Luke Schaufuss as The Bluebird Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu LAB Ensemble Allyssa Bross as Aurora Allynne Noelle as The Lilac Fairy Fairy Ensemble Colleen Neary as Carabosse Allyssa Bross with LAB Ensemble Allynne Noelle Kenta Shimizu as Prince Desire & Allynne Noelle as The Lilac Fairy Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Bianca Bulle as The Diamond Julia Cinquemani as Princess Florine Julia Cinquemani as Princess Florine & Luke Schaufuss as The Bluebird Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu LAB Ensemble Previous Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation. Next Gallery

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Marcos Ramirez Hometown Trinidad, Cuba Seasons with LAB 5 Seasons with LAB Marcos joined the National Ballet of Cuba at the age of 17. He joined LAB in 2020 and has performed the roles of Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty, Prince in Cinderella, The Cavalier Prince in The Nutcracker, Gustave in Lady of the Camellias, and other leading roles in pieces by Balanchine, Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon and Anabel López Ochoa. He has also performed in international Galas in Italy, Cuba, and the United States. Marcos was awarded 1st and 2nd place in international competitions in Cuba and 1st place in YAGP Philadelphia.

Season 2011-2012 Laura Anne Wallace, Chelsea Paige Johnston & Bianca Bulle in 'Colony' by Kitty McNamee Kitty McNamee Allyssa Bross & Zheng Hua Li in 'Duets in the Act of help' by Sonya Tayeh Julia Cinquemani & Vincent S. Adams in 'Duets in the Act of help' by Sonya Tayeh Molly Flippen & Nicholas de la Vega in 'Duets in the Act of help' by Sonya Tayeh Allynne Noelle & Alexander Castillo in 'Duets in the Act of help' by Sonya Tayeh Josie Walsh Sirens'ge Johnston in 'Sirens' by Josie Walsh Allynne Noelle, Alexander Castillo, Benjamin Winegar & Zheng Hua Li in 'Be Still' by Stacey Tookey Stacey Tookey Allyssa Bross in 'Be Still' by Stacey Tookey Allynne Noelle & Kenta Shimizu in 'Swan Lake' Christopher Revels in 'Swan Lake' Sophie Silna, Bianca Bulle, Ariel Derby & Julia Cinquemani in 'Swan Lake' Allyssa Bross & Ensemble in 'Swan Lake' 'Swan Lake" Katherine Coqgill & Zheng Hua Li in 'Swan Lake' Julia Cinquemani in 'Swan Lake' Kate Highstrete in 'Swan Lake'; Photo Allyssa Bross & Christopher Revels, with Nicholas de la Vega in 'Swan Lake' Allynne Noelle & Kenta Shimizu in 'Swan Lake' Kenta Shimizu in 'Swan Lake' Allynne Noelle & Kenta Shimizu in 'Swan Lake' Allynne Noelle & Kenta Shimizu in 'Swan Lake' Previous Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation. Next Gallery

The Moor's Pavane 2015 Limón / Purcell arr. by Sadoff Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Previous Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation. Next Gallery

Memoryhouse, Melissa Barak's first full evening length ballet, choreographed to the 2002 Max Richter album of the same name, was performed at Broadstage in Santa Monica for three nights, June 15-17, 2023, as the concluding pieces of Barak's first season as Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Ballet. Home / News / New Item Review: The Los Angeles Ballet Steps Out With Barak’s MemoryHouse July 5, 2023 Forbes Tom Teicholz Memoryhouse , Melissa Barak's first full evening length ballet, choreographed to the 2002 Max Richter album of the same name, was performed at Broadstage in Santa Monica for three nights, June 15-17, 2023, as the concluding pieces of Barak's first season as Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Ballet . Memoryhouse is a work whose subject is the Holocaust – however, it is not a narrative account of any one person's experience, nor does it try to render specific occurrences, rather it is a work that uses a series of vignettes (or scenes or movements) to convey a spectrum of Jewish experience during the Holocaust. In my conversations with Barak, both while in rehearsal, and then on stage following the Friday night performance, she shared some of her inspiration and process regarding Memoryhouse . She first heard the Max Richter album years ago, and it stayed with her. "It's so beautiful. It's very haunting. It's very dramatic," Barak said. "I don't remember exactly what I was doing or when it occurred to me what the ballet should be about, but as soon as that thought [that the subject would be the Holocaust] came into my head, it was like: Oh my God, this section sounds like a train… another section is very atmospheric [and] it sounds like people in hiding, like hiding beneath shadows and like flickers of light…." I asked Barak why the Holocaust? "I was always very interested in the subject," Barak said. Barak, who is Jewish, added that, although her own family arrived in the United States in the 1920s, escaping from persecution in Russia, none of her direct family were murdered in the Holocaust. Nonetheless, the subject has always captivated her. "Throughout my twenties and thirties," she told me, "I went to Auschwitz. I have been to Berlin... I went to Sachsenhausen. I went to Dachau when I went to Munich. I've been to the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam. I've been to Hungary. I always made it a point to [visit] museums and camps. I went to the [US] Holocaust Museum in DC very soon after it opened. It's just a subject that I've always been very interested in." So, how did this become a ballet? Barak explained: "Once I've taken everything I know, and I've learned and just surrounded myself [with] the stories... the sights, the feelings, the emotions. Then, [Richter's] music is such a guide… I knew what each movement represented in terms of what scene we're talking about. Then it was just a matter of exploring movement that expressed that time and place." Memoryhouse is compelling and innovative in its mix of traditional, modern, and abstract modes of dance as well as in its use of scrims and projections created by Sebastian Pescheira, and a flexible stage-set created with architect Hagy Belzberg (who is also the architect of Holocaust Museum LA). The projections are integral to Memoryhouse , at times looking like musical notes or Hebrew letters that fall and become rain-like slashes; and, at other times, morphing into birds that take flight; and significantly, at one moment of intensity, the rain of slashes convey the rain of ash in the sky from the incineration of the bodies of the murdered. Spoken word poetry is used in each of the ballet’s two acts – in the first act a poem is recited in Russian by the poet Marina Tsvetaeva herself (there is no translation just the voice, that to me conjured the life of Russian Jews during the Holocaust, at Stalingrad and during the famine siege of St. Petersburg). In the second act, John Cage speaks words in an affectless tone that, to me, spoke to the non-sensical zombie world of the Nazis' factories of death. The dancers stand at times behind the scrim, which can look like a hazy screen with rectangular cut outs. At moments, it creates distance from the audience – as if they are not just in a different time but on a different planet, be it in the ghetto, or on the trains, or in the camps. It's very arresting and conveys the various moods of alienation, aloneness, danger, and even adds a level of ominous foreboding. Although the ballet is abstract, the human mind is always striving to find meaning and impose a narrative. In the first half of the ballet as the scenes build, one after another, I imagined the families that existed before the war, their lives in the ghettos, their transport on the trains, and in the death camps themselves- it was an emotional experience. The dramatic first act break left the audience breathless. Memoryhouse signals a dazzling creative accomplishment for Barak, in what has already been an accomplished career. Barak is an LA native who attended Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences from seventh to 11th Grade, while training at Westside Ballet. At a young age, Barak's mother took her to the ballet and put her in ballet classes. Even then, Barak says, "I saw myself both as a dancer performing, and I also was constantly creating ballets in my head." Barak spent two years in the School of American Ballet, before being accepted in 1998 into New York City Ballet (NYCB), the house that Balanchine built. Mr. B. had passed away in 1983 but under the leadership of Peter Martins, the ballet masters were still Balanchine trained, and some of the Balanchine ballerinas such as Merrill Ashley were still working with the company. It was a "very high standard," Barak says of NYCB. "The athleticism and the artistry that was expected of you…. You had to dance fast, move fast, move with grace and precision… A lot was expected of us every day." Ats 18, Barak was part of part of the inaugural class of Peter Martin's choreography workshop. Martins was impressed and "had his eye on her for other choreographic opportunities." So, when the Choreographic Institute began in 2000, she was invited to do a new piece. In 2006, Barak joined Los Angeles Ballet as a dancer, and in 2013 she launched her own company, Barak Ballet. In 2022, she was appointed Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Ballet. Barak's deep understanding of being a dancer informs her role as Artistic Director. "For me as a director, it's important to stay true to who I am," Barak told me. "I like talent. My focus is to find dancers who, when they dance, it's full energy, full passion, full dedication… who bring that athleticism and artistry to the mix. Musicality is important to me [as is] a work ethic... It's fun to guide a dancer to their full potential." Memoryhouse features dancers from Barak Ballet and from Los Angeles Ballet. In some scenes the dancers are in flat shoes, in others in ballet slippers. The mix of movement-styles is Barak's choreographic signature along with a specific emphasis and how the dancers use their arms, at times raised and at times to signal how a duet or group will move as they push, pull, lead, and follow each other. Memoryhouse had specific details that conjured, for me, scenes from the works of Holocaust survivors Imre Kertesz and Primo Levi. In one movement, the dancers move in a group shoulder to shoulder, their heads rolling. This movement reminded me of Hungarian Nobel Prize winner Kertesz's autobiographical novel, Fateless , in which a 14-year-old boy in Auschwitz describes the way the Nazis weaponized boredom, making the inmates stand for countless hours in roll calls, their heads nodding as they tried to stay awake. In a similar fashion, there were several scenes where the dancers were wearing neutral garments made me think of the ruthless depersonalization Levi described in "The Grey Zone" of The Drowned and the Saved. The second act opens in a burst of color with dancers who could be meeting in a bar or cabaret. At first, I thought this might be a pre-war flashback, or a vignette of life lived under false papers. The scenes that follow are different moments of resistance, survival, loss and death. The second act does not land as powerfully as the first and ends abruptly. Maybe that is intentional – perhaps Barak is making us feel the violence of the lives that were interrupted or maybe Barak is expressing the truth that although the War ended, for many the effects of the Holocaust didn’t. Memoryhouse is an emotional, visual, and movement-led journey, an experience that I hope will be performed and seen by many for years to come. Memoryhouse is significant not only because of its subject matter but also because of what it represents in terms of Barak's vision for the Los Angeles Ballet. In my conversation with Barak, we discussed both how she hopes to make the Los Angeles Ballet stand out, and how to make Los Angeles as much a home for dance as it has been for film, TV, and more recently the visual arts. At the base level, Dance in Los Angeles needs to foster a better infrastructure for dancers and companies to thrive. Greater financial and philanthropic support is certainly a top priority. This production of Memoryhouse was made possible by the support of The David and Janet Polak Foundation but more funders and sponsors are needed. On a more nuts and bolts level. The Los Angeles Ballet would benefit from having a permanent place of residency for the company’s performances, as well as a real home for ballet companies. Los Angeles has no real Disney Hall for dance, or dedicated dance performance space like The Joyce Theater in New York. Barak feels that to stand out, the Los Angeles Ballet will need to take risks and make bold choices regarding new work. It is a formula that over the last two decades has made the LA Phil the premier orchestra for new work, and that has drawn critics, artists, as well audience and supporters to Los Angeles. Barak has a vision for Los Angeles Ballet that will mix the new with the classic and that will focus on the dancers. However, without audience attendance and individual, corporate, and philanthropic support, Barak and all other dance companies in Los Angeles cannot succeed. All those who care about dance and want LA dance to thrive for the next generation, need to show up, however they can. The power and artistry of Barak’s Memoryhouse reminds us, as Balanchine said, "Dance is important and significant – yes. But first of all, it is a pleasure." READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE