2023 USA International Ballet Competition Announces International Jury Members, Unveils Commemorative Poster And Commissioned Sculpture & Reveals Dance School Details

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Jackson, Miss. (October 31,2022) – The USA International Ballet Competition has announced the members of the International Jury for the 12th USA IBC to be held June 10 – 24, 2023 at Thalia Mara Hall.

John Meehan, former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, will chair the 2023 jury for the third time. “The USA IBC is about more than medals,” said Meehan. “It’s a celebration of dance that reflects the highest standards of artistic excellence.” Other jurors will be Paloma Herrera, Argentina; Frank Andersen, Denmark; Hae Shik Kim, Korea; Angel Corella, Spain; Lauren Anderson, USA; Ashley Wheater, United Kingdom; Feng Ying, China; Stanton Welch, Australia; Robert Curran, Australia; and André Lewis, Canada.

  Meehan also announced the USA IBC will waive application fees for dancers from Ukraine and help with airline and other expenses if they are selected to compete in the 2023 USA IBC. “We want to help these talented young dancers who have been misplaced to advance their careers amidst the pain they are experiencing with what is happening now in their country,” said Meehan.   

The 2023 USA IBC commemorative poster features a painting by the late artist Andrew Bucci. Mr. Bucci’s work was also chosen for the poster in 2014. Mona Nicholas, USA IBC Executive Director said, “It was an obvious choice. Mr. Bucci would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year and we wanted to commemorate his centennial year by choosing him as the official artist. He loved ballet and it clearly shows through the movement displayed in his work.” The official poster is sponsored by BankPlus.

A steel sculpture, by New York artist Jack Howard – Potter titled “Dancer 12” will be a permanent fixture on the plaza of Thalia Mara Hall and commemorates the 12th time the competition will be held in Jackson, Mississippi. This commissioned public art is sponsored by Downtown Jackson Partners.

David Keary, Ballet Mississippi artistic director and a former New York City Ballet dancer, will direct the 2023 USA IBC Dance School, held concurrently with the competition. Faculty members include Tatiana Tchernova, Lawrence Jackson, Charles Askegard, Lisa Johnson – Willingham, Gretchen Newburger – Bernard, Valerie Madonia, and Lisa Hess Jones. All classes will be held in the state-of-the-art dance studios of Belhaven University. Applications open November 7, 2022.

During the second week of the 2023 competition, London’s Royal Ballet School will present its Inspire series. A six-day program for ballet teachers that explores the foundations of classical ballet technique, more advanced elements of technique and artistry and good teaching practice.

The USA IBC was founded by Thalia Mara and the first competition was held in Jackson in 1979. The USA IBC is the official international ballet competition in the United States by Joint Resolution of Congress. The 2023 USA IBC will welcome applicants ages 15 to 28, in keeping with sister competitions in Helsinki, Varna, and Moscow. Approximately 100 dancers will be invited to compete from more than 300 applicants. Applications opened on October 3, 2022, and close on February 16, 2023.

More information about the 2023 USA IBC is available at usaibc.com. ###

  

Nina Ananiashvili, State Ballet of Georgia deliver Grand Prix performance

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. She and Andris also were the first winners of the Jackson competition’s highest award, the City of Jackson Grand Prix.

Ananiashvili’s second appearance on the Thalia Mara Hall stage was as a juror, representing her home nation of Georgia, in the 2014 USA IBC. Many in the audience had seen her dance in 1986; others knew her renown as a prima ballerina of both the Bolshoi Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.

On July 16, 2016, Nina Ananiashvili returned as prima ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia.To express her appreciation to Jackson, the USA IBC and its chairman emeritus, William D. Mounger, she made a special addition to the evening’s program. She dedicated her illustrious performance of The Dying Swan to Mounger, who was among the group of Jacksonians who first saw her dance at the 1985 Moscow IBC. Her performance of Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand also was an exquisite vehicle for her strength, grace and emotional depth three decades following her participation in USA IBC III.

The State Ballet of Georgia delighted with Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco and Yuri Possokhov’s Sagalobeli. The last piece was followed by a rousing encore that featured Ananiashvili in traditional and manly Georgian attire, proudly displaying her homeland’s flag.

Just as she and Andris had done in 1986, Nina and the State Ballet of Georgia gave a performance from heart and soul, and the Jackson-USA IBC audience will cherish the memory.

Photo by Richard Finkelstein.

Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Dynamic Energy to Open 2014 USA International Ballet Competition

The USA International Ballet Competition  audience will witness an astounding mix of methods, styles and cultures when Complexions Contemporary Ballet takes the stage June 14 to open the 2014 festival in Jackson, Mississippi. The USA IBC, June 14 – 29, is designated as the official international ballet competition in the United States by a Joint Resolution of the Congress.

“We always want to introduce a spectacular ‘wow factor’ opening night, and Complexions, as an inventive and incredibly dynamic group of dancers, will certainly fit the bill,” said Sue Lobrano, USA IBC executive director. “Their power and fluidity are explosive, creating an entirely new vision of human movement.”

Complexions Contemporary Ballet will perform Innervisions (2013), a work that will combine artistry and rhythmic dance moves with bold physicality, all set to the R & B music of Stevie Wonder.

“It will be extremely exciting for the USA IBC audience to experience how Complexions transcends the limitations of a single dance style, period, venue or culture,” Lobrano commented. “We anticipate a brilliant performance that will pay joyful homage to Stevie Wonder’s well-known rhythms and lyricism.”

Founded in 1994 and based in New York, Complexions has received numerous awards and has appeared throughout the United States, at major European dance festivals and in shows around the globe. Its founders and artistic directors, Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, are known for creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of the world and all its constituent cultures as an interrelated whole. Rhoden, whose choreography has been the lynchpin in the development of the Complexions repertory, choreographed Innervisions.

Tickets to the USA IBC’s opening ceremony, including the competitors’ Parade of Nations and Complexions Contemporary Ballet performance, range from $35 to $60 and may be purchased at www.usaibc.com. Tickets for other individual performances during the three rounds of competition are priced from $7 to $70 and may also be purchased via the website.

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 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, Miss., in the tradition of sister competitions in Varna, Bulgaria, and Moscow, Russia.
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2014 USA IBC Ticket Packages On Sale; Single Performance Tickets Available April 7.

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.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Thalia!

Thalia Mara (1911-2003)
We celebrate with gratitude and love for the lady who inspired us. Thalia Mara made us believe that together, we could make it happen. So many words have been used to describe Thalia: strong, visionary, hardheaded and diligent are but a few. Because she was all of these things, she accomplished more than most people dream of doing.

Thalia was born in Chicago to Russian parents and began her dance career at an early age, dancing professional on stages around the world. As an acclaimed dance educator, she created the School of Ballet Repertory in New York city, the first of its kind in the U. S. to offer elementary and secondary academics as well as the performing arts.

Author of eleven published books, Thalia will long be remembered for her role as a teacher. Many students found their love of dance through her, and many went on to careers in ballet companies around the world.

She left her home in New York City in 1975 to live in a Mississippi she barely knew. She arrived with the hope to further the arts in the South, educating not only students, but building audiences. She created the first ballet company in Mississippi that actually paid dancers. Among them are David Keary, Ballet Mississippi executive and artistic director, and Kathy Thibodeaux, founder and artistic director of Ballet Magnificat!.

We owe her much. And today, June 28, we wish her a happy birthday and say “thank you” still.