Kit Whitsett Fields has been selected as the official artist for the 11th USA IBC. Fields’ painting—to be featured on the commemorative poster, program and other promotional materials—will be revealed at a fall press conference to announce details of the June 10-23, 2018, competition. “I never considered that I would actually be part of the […]
Auditions for the 2017-2018 CityDance ballet program will be held Saturday, Sept. 9, 2018, at the Mississippi Arts Center, 201 E. Pascagoula St. Sponsored by the USA International Ballet Competition, CityDance provides free ballet classes for approximately 75 students enrolled in Jackson Public Schools or charter schools within the city. Auditions are open to students […]
The USA International Ballet Competition of Jackson, Mississippi, has been awarded a $26,100 grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC). This grant—a portion of the $1.3 million in grants the Commission will award in 2017-2018—will support the 11th USA International Ballet Competition to be held June 10-23, 2018, in Jackson. The grants are made possible by […]
For the first time in USA IBC history, the Jackson competition will accept applications from dancers who will be at least age 14 and no older than age 28 by June 10, 2018, date of the USA IBC XI opening. Rules and Regulations are now posted, and competitor applications will be available at usaibc.com by October 2, 2017.
Sixty students in the CityDance after-school ballet program completed the 2016-2017 school year May 18 with a recital at Belhaven University Center for the Arts. The five classes, under the direction of instructor Kathryn Wilson, presented selections from the Camille Saint-Saëns suite, Carnival of the Animals. Approximately 300 family members and friends attended. Sponsored […]
Daily meetings at American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey, Harlequin Floors and others—with nights at the Youth America Grand Prix New York Finals—all in preparation for the 2018 USA International Ballet Competition.
The USA International Ballet Competition CityDance program is completing its second year of a three-year grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson. Through the support of CFGJ and other grantors, including the Mississippi Arts Commission and Greater Jackson Arts Council, CityDance provides ballet instruction, dance wear and dance shoes to approximately 80 students from the Jackson Public Schools. […]
Thalia Mara, founder of the USA International Ballet Competition, was posthumously inducted into the Mississippi Innovators Hall of Fame in September 2016. Mara is the first individual from the arts to be inducted by Innovate Mississippi, a nonprofit organization with the mission to drive innovation and technology-based economic development in Mississippi. The Mississippi Innovators Hall of Fame, launched in 2008, celebrates and […]
The USA International Ballet Competition has been awarded a $26,100 grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC). This grant is a portion of the $1.5 million in grants the Commission will award in 2016-2017 and will be used to help with operating expenses for the USA IBC, designated the official international ballet competition within the United […]
Each time Nina Ananiashvili has appeared on the stage of Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, Mississippi, she has been warmly welcomed by the ballet audience. Her first appearance was as a 23-year-old dancer participating in the 1986 USA International Ballet Competition. With her partner, Andris Liepa, she made history by being the first dancers from the former Soviet Union to compete in America. […]