Melissa Barak was born in Los Angeles, California and began her ballet training at the age of eight at Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. There she studied with Yvonne Mounsey, Rosemary Valaire and Nader Hamed until 1996, when she moved to New York to attend the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet. She originated a role in Christopher Wheeldon's SOIREE MUSICALE for SAB's 1998 Annual Workshop. In June 1998, Ms. Barak was invited to become an apprentice with New York City Ballet and less than a month later she became a member of the corps de ballet.

Since joining New York City Ballet, Ms. Barak has danced numerous corps roles from the Company's vast repertory including George Balanchine's BALLO DELLA REGINA, CORTÉGE HONGROIS, EPISODES, FIREBIRD, THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS, JEWELS, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, LA SOURCE, STARS AND STRIPES, SWAN LAKE, SYMPHONY IN C, SYMPHONY IN THREE MOVEMENTS, TSCHAIKOVSKY SUITE NO.3, UNION JACK, LA VALSE, WALPURGISNACHT BALLET; Peter Martins' FEARFUL SYMMETRIES, HARMONIELEHRE, JEU DE CARTES, THE SLEEPING BEAUTY and SWAN LAKE; Robert La Fosse and Robert Garland's TRIBUTARY; and Richard Tanner's ANCIENT AIRS AND DANCES. Ms. Barak originated corps roles in Christopher Wheeldon's MERCURIAL MANOEUVRES, Eliot Feld's ORGANON, and Richard Tanner's SOIRÉE.

Ms. Barak won a 2001 Choo-San Goh Award for Choreography from the Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee Foundation of Long Beach, CA. The award recognizes choreographers of promise. TELEMANN OVERTURE SUITE IN E MINOR is the first work choreographed by Ms. Barak to be performed by New New York City Ballet. Ms. Barak's film credits include a brief appearance in the movie TOYS.