June 6 , 2006

For the first time since 1979, the USA International Ballet Competition (USA IBC) will be lighting its official torch from a new flame. The flame, ignited outside Thalia Mara Hall at the start of the two-week event, stays lit throughout the competition. IBC officials will light the new flame during the event’s Opening Ceremonies at Thalia Mara Hall on June 17.

Donated by Richard and Sandra Carlino on behalf of Regional Dance America, the new flame is a seven-foot-tall structure with a triangular base. At its apex, a luminous metallic bowl will cradle the official flame of the USA IBC. Sandra Carlino, the artistic director of Pennsylvania Regional Ballet, funded the creation of the new flame in honor of well-known dancer Luis Fuente.

“Luis was the very first ‘torch-bearer’ for the inaugural IBC, and this year my company is performing his work, Mújeres, as part of the competition’s Regional Dance America Showcase,” said Carlino. “Luis has been an influential part of my life for a long time, and I felt there was no more fitting way to honor his lifelong commitment to the ballet world than to donate the torch in his honor,” said Carlino.

In addition to serving as the first torch-bearer of the USA IBC, Fuente appeared on the event’s 1982 commemorative poster.

“We are honored that the Carlinos have chosen to donate a new flame for the 2006 USA IBC,” said Sue Lobrano, executive director of the USA IBC. “We look forward to using their generous gift during the 2006 IBC, and for many events to come.”

The design and sculpting of the structure was created by James Roy Jackson III, technical director of Houston Dance Theatre.