Ballet is, perhaps, the best metaphor for humanity’s bloody pursuit of perfection. Beneath the elegance of the seemingly floating dancer is the incessant, aggressive physicality, a demand on one’s body that is difficult to comprehend. Ballet is indeed an art form that relies almost entirely upon illusion, only given life after countless hours of class, study, and rehearsal.

See here, members of the Los Angeles Ballet—a company whose home city is familiar with such illusionary grandeur—a city that is all too familiar with the contrast between visual beauty and sometimes substantial pain.

Founded in 2004 by Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, the Los Angeles Ballet brings to the city romantic, classical, neoclassical, and contemporary variations of the nearly 600-year-old performance art. In 2022, Melissa Barak joined the team as the company’s first-ever solo Artistic Director, where she leads LAB in city-wide performances at stages like from Santa Monica and Redondo Beach to Hollywood and Pasadena.

A born Angeleno, Melissa Barak is a critically acclaimed choreographer and previous professional dancer herself. Her work extends beyond an aesthetic vision for the ballet and spills over into the company’s cultural community efforts. With Power of Performance (POP!), the company’s educational arts program, the organization offers thousands of free tickets to the underserved in LA. They also founded A Chance to Dance (ACTD), which offers complimentary dance classes for people of any age.

Of the recent fire tragedy, Barak says, “Los Angeles is hurting, whether you have been directly affected by the devastating fires or not. Our city has changed, and we all feel that, and we grieve what has been lost. Los Angeles Ballet hopes to be able to offer some respite from all of the loss,” she continues, “and as a performing arts organization, we offer the space to create new special memories. We are looking forward to seeing audiences again at our upcoming production of Cinderella, as art really does help to heal, and amidst all of the destruction and chaos, hope and inspiration can be found in the house of a theater.”

Photographed by Warwick Saint

Styled by Jyotisha Bridges

Dancers: Aviva Gelfer-Mundl, Julianne Kinasiewicz, Lilly Fife, Paige Wilkey, Poppy Coleman, Jonas Tutaj

Hair: Barbara Lamelza

Makeup: Dee Daly at Opus Beauty

Grooming: Carolina Pizarro at CPH Productions

Production Assistant: Kayla Hardy

Styling Assistant: Iryielle Barrett

Location: Cherry Soda Studios