Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Barak is the son of acclaimed dancer, choreographer and musician Margalit Oved. Since his accidental entrance into dance in 1995, Barak fast established himself as one Israeli dance’s most innovative and unique voices. Barak’s first work Aunt Leah won first prize in Suzanne Dellal’s 1995 Shades of Dance Choreography Competition. The work was also added to the repertoire of the Inbal Dance Theater Company. Shortly after, Barak began touring abroad, appearing in the prestigious Roma Europa and Arci Milano festivals to rave reviews. In that same year he premiered his second work, The Land of Sad Oranges, based on a short story by the Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani.
Barak’s third work, Emma Goldman’s Wedding, represented Israel in the 1998 Bagnolet International Competition where it swept the awards--winning first prize, as well as the Prix d’Auteur Award, the Bonnie Byrd Award for New Choreography and the National ADAMI Award.
Barak’s success in Paris attracted the attention of European presenters and the company went on to tour extensively throughout Europe, including performances at the Berlin Festival, Hamburg’s Sommertheatre Festival, Lyon’s Biennale de la Danse and Paris’s Theatre de la Bastille.
Barak has also created several works for the Batsheva Ensemble, the Philadanco Dance Company, MDT Dance Company and Austria’s ABCD Dance Company. He also choreographed the Habima National Theater of Israel’s production of Dybbuk. Barak was resident choreographer at the 1998 and 1999 American Dance Festivals and was also commissioned to create two new pieces for the Israel Festival.
In 1999 Barak was invited by Ohad Naharin to become the Batsheva Dance Company’s first-ever house choreographer. He remained there for two years until a severe leg injury forced him to take a leave from dance.
In addition to his work in dance, Barak is a singer of Middle Eastern and Rock music. In May 2006 Barak was invited by Yo-Yo Ma to sing as a soloist with his Silk Road Project. Barak is currently a guest vocalist with Yuval Ron Ensemble. In 2008, the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony commissioned composer Ariel Blumenthal to create a new piece for Barak which he premiered at the Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
In 2007 Barak was asked by the Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership to create a new choreographic/dance course. As artistic director of the program, he established a partnership between the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures, the UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance and the Suzanne Dellal Center. The program is now in its third year in Israel and will return to UCLA in 2010. In 2008 Barak was a guest lecturer in choreography and composition at the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures.
Barak studied social theory and philosophy at Harvard University and immigrated to Israel in 1994. He currently divides his time between Tel Aviv and Los Angeles. Barak recently received the prestigious Creative Capital Grant (New York) for his new music production, Symphony of Tin Cans, with Margalit Oved and Tamir Muskat of Balkan Beat Box. His latest work, MONGER—which was commissioned by the Suzanne Dellal Center—premiered October 2008 and is being performed in Israel, Europe and the United States. Barak has just been commissioned by the Suzanne Dellal Centre and the Israeli Opera to create a new dance-theater work, to be premiered at the Opera House in November 2009.
