USA IBC Postponed due to COVID-19
The USA International Ballet Competition (USA IBC) will take the stage in Jackson, Mississippi, June 10-24, 2023.
More than 100 dancers from around the world will compete in Jackson for the 12th time on the stage at Thalia Mara Hall. The USA IBC is among the oldest and most prestigious international ballet competitions in the world.
The USA IBC competition was originally scheduled for June of 2022, but was rescheduled for 2023 when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted 2020 competitions planned for Helsinki, Finland, and Varna, Bulgaria.
“USA IBC leaders worked with our sister competitions in three countries to develop new, coordinated schedules and ensure that despite the pandemic, dancers who had trained for years would still be able to compete and the world would still have the opportunity to come together for these celebrations of art and athleticism,” said Mona Nicholas, USA IBC executive director.
The forced postponements of the 2020 competitions would have moved their new dates to within months of the 2022 Jackson competition. Having three major competitions within two months would have negatively impacted all three of the IBCs. The pool of competing dancers would have been diluted and ticket sales would have suffered; the sister competitions would have essentially been competing with each other.
Instead, the four competitions came together to work out a solution. USA IBC led the way by volunteering to reschedule its competition until 2023.
“Our partners in Varna, Moscow, and Helsinki shared our belief that we should work together to make the competitions accessible to as many gifted dancers and as many global audience members as possible,” Nicholas said. “The pandemic affected the entire world, with countries closing borders and the arts temporarily dark. Now more than ever, the people of the world need art. We need events that unify us and remind us there is still beauty in the world. These competitions do just that.”
The most recent competition in Jackson in 2018 had a total economic impact of $12.5 million in Mississippi
For more information about USA IBC or becoming a sponsor, visit usaibc.com or contact Mona Nicholas at mnicholas@usaibc.com or call 601-355-9853 x 4.
New Competition Schedule
2021 Moscow
2022 Helsinki and Varna
2023 Jackson
2024 Varna
2025 Moscow
2026 Helsinki and Varna
2027 Jackson
2028 Varna