AMERICAN MASTERPIECES

The USA International Ballet Competition is a National Endowment for the Arts 2010 American Masterpiece as designated through the Mississippi Arts Commission. The National Endowment for the Arts created this national initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy.

Mississippi Arts Commission Executive Director Malcolm White officially revealed the USA International Ballet Competition designation in late fall 2009. “Through this special recognition and funding, the Mississippi Arts Commission is proud to highlight and celebrate the role of dance, and the life of Thalia Mara in the cultural landscape of Mississippi,” White said. “The worldwide reach and global prestige the USA International Ballet Competition brings to Mississippi is paradoxically underscored by the need to elevate  and embrace the art of dance in our state’s day-to-day vocabulary and fabric.”  As a result of this national arts program, performances, exhibitions, tours and educational programs across many different art  forms have been held in large and small communities in all 50 states.

The 2010 USA IBC Opening Ceremony is funded in part by the initiative. The USA International Ballet Competition is honored to be added to a prestigious list of American Masterpieces grant recipients. “We have always thought of Thalia Mara as a woman of vision and remarkable dance educator, but to have this designation stated officially is fantastic. We greatly appreciate the relationship we share with the Mississippi Arts Commission and the opportunity they have provided us to honor our founder, Thalia, and the impact of the USA IBC on our city and globe through the American Masterpieces Initiative,” said Sue Lobrano, USA IBC executive director.

Through this program, the Mississippi Arts Commission has also funded a series of events representing the best of the arts in Mississippi, including a series of statewide concerts, in partnership with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, celebrating the life and music of composer William Grant Still; a traveling exhibition featuring the works of acclaimed Mississippi Gulf Coast artists, Walter Anderson, Dusti Bonge, Richard Barthe and George Ohr; and the centennial celebration of beloved Mississippi writer, Eudora Welty.

The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency and is the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi. The agency serves as an active supporter and promoter of arts in community life and in arts education.