Jackson, Miss. (January 20, 2014) -Ticket packages for the 2014 USA International Ballet Competition (USA IBC), scheduled for June 14 – 29, at Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, Mississippi, are now on sale to the public. The USA IBC is designated as the official international ballet competition in the United States by a Joint Resolution of Congress.
Packages include tickets for three rounds of competition, the June 14 Opening Ceremony and the June 28 Awards Gala – 16 performances. Complexions Contemporary Ballet will appear as the guest company for the Opening Ceremony, and the 2014 medalists will perform at the Awards Gala. Package prices are $265 for lower balcony and rear orchestra seating, $341 for loge and orchestra seating, and $405 for dress circle seating. Ticket packages are discounted 15 percent off the price of individual tickets that will be available for purchase April 7, 2014.
“USA IBC tickets are always in high demand,” said Sue Lobrano, USA IBC executive director. “Purchasing a ticket package is a great value and an excellent way to secure the best seats for the most popular nights of the event – Opening Night, Round Three and the Awards Gala.”
The USA IBC offers spectacular dance performances from the classical ballet repertoire and the new 2014 contemporary repertoire from which semi-finalists will be required to perform one contemporary solo or pas de deux. Choreographers, Trey McIntyre and Matthew Neenan, have generously contributed several of their works to the upcoming competition.
“Taking the requisite contemporary repertoire into consideration, it will be very exciting to hear about how many audience members develop a preference for their favorite dancers and cheer them on as they advance to the next round,” said Lobrano. “Receiving this kind of support from fans who attend every performance is just one of the many factors that make the USA IBC experience one of a kind.”
Ticket packages may be purchased online or by contacting the USA IBC Box Office, 601-973-9249, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (CST) Monday-Friday. The Box Office is inside the Mississippi Arts Center, 201 E. Pascagoula St., in downtown Jackson. Tickets for individual performances will be released for sale April 7, 2014.
The USA IBC is a two-week, “olympic-style” competition where tomorrow’s stars vie for medals, cash awards, company contracts and scholarships. The event is designated as the official international ballet competition in the United States by a 1982 Joint Resolution of the Congress. Presented under the auspices of the International Dance Committee, International Theatre Institute of UNESCO, the USA IBC is held every four years in Jackson in the tradition of sister competitions in Varna, Bulgaria, and Moscow, Russia.