"Exemplary" - L.A. Observed
"Ms. Barak moves dancers around with the precision of a chess master." - New York Times
"Barak’s choreography is complex and romantic; she plumbs the emotional nuance from human gesture to communicate directly and with resonance. Her work pulls from the ballet vocabulary alone; refreshingly, she eschews the mindless and frantic semaphore signaling that's become trendy in contemporary ballet." - Los Angeles Times
“Ms. Barak is a creative talent well worth following. She’s utterly confident in her linkage of steps, and she knows how to move bodies in space.” - The New York Times
“Melissa Barak, provided her own fascinating vision of dance theater in the form of If by Chance, an intriguing picture of young lovers framed by the opposing groups that surround them.” - Wall Street Journal
“She responds to music appropriately but not slavishly, she has an easy flow of dance ideas, her dancers always seem to be in the right place without strain – she thinks spatially." - The New York Observer
“Melissa Barak has the city at her feet.” - Village Voice
Publications
New York Times Los Angeles Times Wall Street Journal New York Magazine Los Angeles Magazine
Dance Magazine Pointe Magazine Dance Spirit Magazine
LA Weekly LA Observed New York Observer New York Sun Women's Wear Daily
Time Out NY Village Voice Newsday CBS Early Show