European foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration signal to the Muslim world and firmly anchor the country in Europe. The trip marked Obama's first visit to a Muslim majority country. Obama has asserted that a close relationship with a stable, democratic, Western-oriented Republic of Turkey is an important U.S. national interest. His administration declared that the U.S. will support the promotion of democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression in Turkey and support its efforts to join the European Union, which the president confirmed on his April visit. While Obama has gone on the record in the past as referring to the massacre of Armenians under the
Melissa Barak years. She was named one of "25 to Watch" in 2002 by "Dance Magazine". Having danced with the New York City Ballet, Barak's work shows influence from George Balanchine. It was at the City Ballet that Barak's work was first noticed by Peter Martins when she was eighteen years old. He commissioned a piece from her for the School of American Ballet in 2001. Barak founded the company Barak Ballet. Melissa Barak Melissa Barak (born August 9, 1979 in Los Angeles) is a choreographer and ballerina. Since 2006 she has danced with the Los Angeles Ballet and with Morphoses/The Wheeldon