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29-1048: Founded in 1978 by Thalia Mara , the first USA International Ballet Competition took place in 1979. This first competition was given sanction by the United Nations' International Dance Committee of UNESCO 's International Theatre Institute . In 1982, the United States Congress passed a Joint resolution designating Jackson, Mississippi, as the official home of the USA International Ballet Competition. Competitions occur every four years in Olympic style. The International Ballet Competition (IBC) originated in Varna, Bulgaria in 1964. The competition eventually expanded to rotating annual events in Varna, Moscow and Tokyo . In 1979

58-521: A Joint Resolution designating Jackson as the official home of the IBC. This first USA IBC added several features that were not found in other competitions. Participants were invited to remain after elimination and encouraged to dance in a special performance at the awards gala. Every competitor and judge was paired with a local host family. A dance school was held concurrently with the competition so students could attend class with world class instructors during

87-581: A Jury award as a junior in 1990 and won the gold medal as a junior in 1994. A number of brother-sister pairs have been in the competition. The most successful was Yury and Zenaida Yanowsky (Spain, 1994, silver and gold respectively). April and Simon Ball (USA) also won awards as a brother-sister pair that same year. Notable sisters have also passed through the IBC including Jennifer and Lauren Gelfand (U.S., 1986 and 1990 respectively) and Adrienne and Ashley Canterna (USA, 1998 and 2002). Brothers Zoltan and Tamas Solymosi (Hungary, 1986 and 1990) went on to dance at

116-590: A USA IBC was Lubomir Kafka from Czechoslovakia in 1979. The first US representative to win a gold medal was Janie Parker with the Houston Ballet in 1982. The only medalist from the IBC's home town of Jackson was Kathy Thibodeaux in 1982. Numerous dancers have participated in multiple USA IBCs but only Pierre Quinn from Bluffers Park in Canada has won medals in different IBCs — junior silver in 1982 and senior silver in 1990. Simon Ball came close when he won

145-906: A jury member to review results. The USA IBC has accelerated the careers of many dancers including Jose Manuel Carreño (1990), Nina Ananiashvili (1986), Vadim Pisarev (1986), Andris Liepa (1986), Daniel Meja (1986), Rasta Thomas (1998), Vladimir Malakhov (1990), Irina Dvorovenko (1990), Brooklyn Mack 2006, Daniil Simkin (2006), Misa Kuranaga (2006), Sara Webb (2002), Katia Carranza (2002), Anna Antonicheva (1998), Yury & Zenaida Yanowsky (1994), Johan Kobborg (1994), April & Simon Ball (1994), Luis Serrano (1998), Dai Sasaki (1994), Edward Stierle (1986), Li Cunxin (1982) and Katherine Healy (1982). Jury members have included Robert Joffrey , Yuri Grigorovich , Bruce Marks, Sophia Golovkina, Alexander Grant, Vera Kirova, Ivan Nagy, Laura Alonso, Vladimir Vasiliev, Yvette Chauvrire and Nina Novak. Li Cunxin (senior men's silver medal in 1982) wrote

174-430: A list of classical pieces from which to select their competition performances. Competition is for a gold, silver, and bronze medals for men and women in each of the age categories. Judges do not have to award every medal and sometimes multiple dancers receive a silver or bronze medal. There are additional awards for best couple, The Robert Joffrey Memorial award and awards of encouragement for juniors. A choreography award

203-829: A memoir Mao's Last Dancer that was a best seller in Australia and the United Kingdom. It includes his account of the competition in Jackson where he was not allowed to compete as a Chinese citizen because of his recent defection to the US. He also discusses the intrigue around the defection of Chinese dancer Lin Jianwei during the competition that year. A movie based on the book was released in 2009. Today Li lives with his family in Melbourne, Australia. The first gold medalist at

232-556: A new professional company. That company has transitioned through the years and is now Ballet Mississippi and is under the direction of David Keary. In the late 1970s a group in New York City was looking for a site to hold an international competition in the United States. Thalia Mara successfully lobbied for Jackson as the site because it would give the competitors a taste of Middle America and it would help build interest in

261-841: Is a retired Cuban ballet dancer, who performed as a principal dancer with the English National Ballet , Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre . Carreño started dancing at the age of ten and received his training at the Provincial School of Ballet and the Cuban National Ballet School . He won the Gold Medal at the New York International Ballet Competition in 1987 and the Grand Prix at

290-438: Is given to the best contemporary piece performed in the competition. The competition consists of three rounds. In the first round each competitor must perform one classical pax de deux or two short solos. At the end of the first round about half of the competitors are selected to continue to the next round. The second round is for contemporary dance. Second round competitors are selected for the final round based on their scores in

319-774: The Black Swan pas de deux . He has been principal dancer in the English National Ballet in 1990, The Royal Ballet in 1993 and the American Ballet Theatre starting in 1995. In 2004 Carreño received the Dance Magazine Award for significant contributions to the ballet world. In 2007 he appeared in the movie, Born to Be Wild – The Leading Men of American Ballet Theatre with Angel Corella , Ethan Stiefel and Vladimir Malakhov , directed by Judy Kinberg and produced by Jodee Nimerichter . On 30 June 2011 he gave his final performance with

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348-868: The International Ballet Competition in Jackson , Mississippi in 1990. He has appeared extensively in Europe, Latin America and the United States, dancing such roles as Franz in Coppélia , Basilio in Don Quixote , Albrecht in Giselle and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake . He has also performed in the principal roles in such works as Le Corsaire , the Diane and Actéon pas de deux and

377-653: The Jackson, Mississippi Municipal Auditorium was renamed Thalia Mara Hall . Another performance space, the Thalia Hall in the Pilsen Historic District located at 18th Street and Allport Street on Chicago's Lower West Side , is also named for her. This article about someone associated with the art of ballet is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Jose Manuel Carre%C3%B1o José Manuel Carreño (born 25 May 1968)

406-484: The 2002 USA International Ballet Competition. Left to right: Yudai Fukuoka, Japan, Bronze; unidentified female; unidentified female; unidentified female; unidentified male; Ashley Canterna, USA, Jury Award; unidentified female; Emi Hariyama, Japan, Robert Joffrey Award; unidentified female; Sergei Upkin, Estonia, Best Couple; Eve Andre, Estonia, Best Couple. Winners' information is from the USA IBC press releases posted on

435-739: The ABT in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera House in Swan Lake featuring Julie Kent and Gillian Murphy as Odille and Odette. Carreño was joined on stage by other members of the company including Marcelo Gomes , Maxim Beloserkovsky and Cory Stearns who hoisted him overhead. Carreño served as the artistic director of the Ballet San Jose from 3 September 2013 until the company closed in 2016. He has performed on Dancing With The Stars television program. Carreño

464-797: The Jackson Municipal Auditorium was flooded just months before the competition. The last two weeks of June saw 70 dancers from 15 countries competing in front of several sold-out performances. After this first event the International Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute of UNESCO sanctioned the competition. Just before the Second USA IBC in 1982 the United States Congress passed

493-739: The National Academy of Ballet and Theatre Arts in New York. Prior to that they ran Ballet Repertory in New York City. After living in New York, Mara moved to Jackson, Mississippi , where she helped found the USA International Ballet Competition . She authored eleven books on ballet, as well as founded the Thalia Mara Arts International Foundation. she died in 2003 at 92. In recognition of her contributions, in 1994

522-594: The Royal Ballet in London and the American Ballet Theatre, respectively. Another pair of brothers were Isaac Hernandez from Mexico who won a Senior Gold medal in 2006 and Esteban Hernandez with a Junior Jury Award of Encouragement in 2010. The 2010 competition brought us the first father-son participants with Andrei Pisarev of Ukraine who is the son of Vadim Pisarev that won a gold medal for the USSR in 1986. The USA IBC

551-629: The USA IBC web site. Note that you can click on the symbol in each column heading to sort the table by that column. Table Notes: Thalia Mara Thalia Mara Mahoney ( née Elizabeth Symons ; June 28, 1911 – October 8, 2003) was an American ballet dancer and educator who authored 11 books on the subject. Mara was born Elizabeth Simons in Chicago in 1911, the daughter of Russian émigré parents. After beginning her performance career in Chicago, Mara traveled to Paris in 1927. Together with her husband Arthur Mahoney , in 1962 she established

580-592: The ballet for her struggling new company. When asked why the competition was held in Mississippi, Bruce Marks said "New York is New York but Jackson is America ." Ms. Mara put together an organization to raise funds and run the event. Hundreds of local volunteers supplemented the paid staff that first year. Capitalizing on the popularity of local sports the competition was marketed as the Olympics of Ballet. That first competition in 1979 faced an extra hurdle when

609-420: The day and attend the competition each night. In 1994 the performance hall in Jackson, Mississippi where the USA IBC is held was renamed in honor of Thalia Mara. She died in Jackson on October 8, 2003. Applicants are required to submit a resume and a video. A selection committee invites about 100 of the applicants to compete as either a junior (15 to 18) or a senior (19 - 26). Accepted competitors are provided

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638-987: The eighth time from June 17 to July 2, 2006. There were over 110 dancers from 27 countries in the competition this year. Medalist from the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. This picture was taken at the news conference where the winners were announced on Friday, June 30, 2006. Back row, left to right: Mathias Dingman (USA, Jr., best couple), Joseph Gatti (USA, Sr Bronze), Isaac Hernandez (Mexico, Jr Gold), Denys Cherevychko (Ukraine, Sr Silver), Daniil Simkin (Germany, Sr Gold), Brooklyn Mack (USA, Sr Silver), unidentified male, Masayoshi Onuki (Japan, Sr Bronze), Davit Karapetyan . Front row, left to right: Yui Yonezawa (Japan, Sr Bronze), Jurgita Dronina (Lithuania, Sr Silver), Sasha De Sola (USA, Jr., best couple), Misa Kuranaga (Japan, Sr Gold), Kayo Sasabe (Japan, Jr Bronze), Christine Shevchenko (USA, Jr Bronze), Sae-Eun Park (S Korea, Jr Silver), Jeffrey Cirio (USA, Jr Bronze), Vanessa Zahorian .) The USA IBC

667-475: The event first came to the United States in Jackson, Mississippi, where it now returns every four years. The rotation is currently among Jackson, Varna, New York, Helsinki , and Shanghai . A number of other international competitions are also sanctioned by UNESCO International Dance Council. After a distinguished career as a teacher in New York City , Thalia Mara moved to Jackson, Mississippi , to start

696-400: The first two rounds. In the final round each competitor must perform both a classical or contemporary piece. The medals are determined from the third round scores. There are thirteen jurors and no country is allowed to have more than one jury member. Jurors score each dancer individually based on artistry, technical skill and musicality. Eliminated competitors are allowed a private session with

725-819: The poster image for this event. Medalist from the 2010 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. This picture was taken at the news conference where the winners were announced on Friday, June 25, 2010. Back row, left to right: Ki-Min Kim (S. Korea, Jr Silver), Zhang Xi (China, Sr Bronze), Marcelino Sambe (Portugal, Jr Gold), Kosuki Okumura (Japan, Sr Silver), Koyhei Yoshida (Japan, Sr Bronze). Front row, left to right: Cao Shuci (China, Sr Gold), Ji-Young Chae (S Korea, Jr Gold), Derek Dunn (USA, Jr Bronze), Mariana Layun Prado (Mexico, Jr Bronze), Alys Sheep (Canada, Jr Silver), Fumi Kaneko (Japan, Jr Silver), Maki Onuki (Japan, Sr Bronze), Candice Adea (Philippines, Sr Silver). The USA IBC returned to Jackson, Mississippi for

754-544: The winners were announced. Front row left to right: Ivan Duarte. Jinsol Eum, Taiyu He, Jeong Hansol, Byul Yun. Back row left to right: Paulina Guraieb Abella, Yasmin Lomondo, Gustavo Carvalho, Yui Shi, Aaron Smyth, Tamako Miyazaki, Gisele Bethea, Irina Sapozhnikova, Mackenzie Richter, Shiori Kase, Ga-Yeon Jung. The USA IBC returned to Jackson, Mississippi, from June 12 to 27, 2010. There were over 100 competitors from 36 countries. MSU art professor Brent Funderburk created

783-663: Was Artistic Director of the Carreño Dance Festival in Sarasota, Florida until the program was discontinued in 2015. He served as the Artistic Director of Ballet de Monterrey (Mexico)from November 2016 until December 2018. Carreno was married to fellow dancer Lourdes Novoa and had two daughters, Carmen and Alessandra. Carreño was engaged to fellow ballet dancer Melanie Hamrick . They ended their relationship in 2014. This ballet -related article

812-536: Was again held in Jackson, Mississippi from June 15 to June 30, 2002. Medalist at the 2002 USA International Ballet Competition. Left to right: Yudai Fukuoka, Japan, Bronze; Sarah Kathryn Lane (light blue shirt), USA, Jr Silver; Katia Carranza (dark blue shirt), Mexico, Bronze; unidentified female (back); Wu Haiyan (white shirt), China, Gold; unidentified male (black shirt); unidentified male (back); Sarah Lamb , USA, Silver; Danny Tidwell, USA, Jr, Silver; Joseph Phillips, Jr Gold; Mikhail Ilyin, Russa, Bronze. Finalist at

841-405: Was again held in Jackson, Mississippi, from June 14 to 29, 2014. There were 109 competitors accepted from 21 countries. This year Edward Villella was the jury chairman for the first time and there were two jury members that were previous medalists: Nina Ananiashvili (1986 Senior Grand Prix) and Gigi Hyatt (1982 Junior Gold). Medalist for the 2014 USA IBC at the press conference Friday morning where

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