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In
the late 1970s, a group of people in New
York City was searching for a home for the
first United States international ballet
competition. Members of this New York Committee
included Donald Saddler, Jane Hermann, William
Como, Natasha Deakin, Walter Terry and Genevieve
Oswald. With their assistance and cooperation,
the nonprofit corporation Mississippi Ballet
International, Inc. (MBI), was created in
1978 to produce the first International
Ballet Competition, which would be held
in Jackson, Mississippi. Robert Joffrey,
renowned artistic director of the Joffrey
Ballet, agreed to chair the first international
panel of jurors. With the help of local,
national and international endorsements,
and the energy and commitment of the citizens
of Jackson, the First USA International
Ballet Competition was held in June 1979,
featuring 70 dancers from 15 countries.
When
planning began for the first competition,
most people in the Jackson community were
naturally not aware of the USA IBC. Even
so, tickets to round III and the Awards
Gala sold out, illustrating the power of
the dancers’ performances. Patrons
who saw the dancers perform in the earlier
rounds spread the word in the Jackson community
about the quality of art the competition
was bringing to Jackson.
The
spirit of collaboration was alive in Jackson
for the first USA IBC. An exhibition of
dance-related art, titled DANCE IMAGE:
A Tribute to Serge Diaghilev, was organized
to provide the USA IBC audience with a visual
idea of the ballet costume and set designs
of the early 20th century. Additionally,
a film festival of dance was held at the
downtown Russell C. Davis Planetarium. The
film festival showcased dance-related films
such as Junction by Paul Taylor,
Sue’s Leg by Twyla Tharp
and Alvin Ailey - Memories and Visions.
During
its inaugural year, the USA IBC became the
first international ballet competition to
host an International Dance School as a
companion event to the competition. The
International Dance School provided students
and competitors with a valuable opportunity
to study under the tutelage of widely recognized
dance experts. At the conclusion of the
first competition, a sanction was received
from the International Dance Committee of
the International
Theater Institute (ITI) of UNESCO for the
USA IBC, a distinction the competition still
holds today. Thus, Jackson joined other
ITI sanctioned competitions that rotated
each year among Bulgaria (Varna, 1964),
Russia (Moscow, 1967) and Japan (Tokyo,
1976).
View
a list of 1979 medalists by clicking
here.
View
a list of 1979 jurors by clicking
here.
View
a list of 1979 IDS faculty by clicking
here.
NEXT PAGE (1982 competition)
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