Thanks to the support of the City of North Miami Beach, all rounds of the competition, the opening ceremony and the closing gala on Sunday are free and open to the public. | Entertainment | The USA Print

The Miami International Ballet Competition (MIBC) is an event with a growing reputation in the competitive academic sphere of the world of ballet founded and directed by renowned teachers Vladimir Issaev and Yanis Pikieris. Its 2023 edition, which takes place from Wednesday, January 25 to Sunday, January 29, is back at the Julius Littman Performing Arts Theater in North Miami Beach.

This competition is, above all, an exceptional educational experience as it counts -as its mission as a project proclaims- with activities that provide “a unique and positive environment where participants show the best of their dance skills while creating contacts and obtaining new opportunities to continue developing their careers and/or professional training”.

Thanks to the support of the City of North Miami Beach, all rounds of the competition, the opening ceremony on Wednesday the 25th at 5 pm and the closing gala on Sunday the 29th at 3:30 pm, are free. and open to the public.

It must be clarified that due to space limitations, the classes will be open for observation only for the trainers of the participants showing the proper accreditation.

We asked Issaev and Pikieris what we can expect to see this time around during the five days of intense activity that already characterizes MIBC.

“This year”, they tell us, “we will have new members of the jury who also bring scholarships and/or job offers of immense value such as Rubén Martín Cintas from the American Ballet Theatre, Ettiene Díaz from the Rock School of Dance and Gentry George, a dancer and choreographer born in Miami who works as a professor at the New World School of the Arts and who will be representing Dance Theater of Harlem.” Adding that “for the closing Gala, we will have the presence of the outstanding Venezuelan dancer and first Houston Ballet dancer Karina González together with principal dancer Connor Walsh interpreting the Pas de Deux from ‘Romeo and Juliet’ with music by Prokofiev and choreography by Stanton Welch”.

In that same function, you can also enjoy the performance of Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami (DDTM) in “Adiemus”, choreography by Pikieris and David Palmer with music by Karl Jenkins. The program is completed with dancers from the Arts Ballet Theater of Florida (ABTF) in “Taiko”, a creation by Issaev himself with music by Masuritza.

Both “Adiemus” and “Taiko” are favorite repertoire works for the audience that attends DDTM and ABTF performances.

According to Issaev and Pikieris, “the selection work has been a bit more demanding this year and we will have 6 pairs of professional dancers in the Pas de Deux category. More than 100 participants will be competing for soloist medals, a similar number to previous editions”.

Participants come from the United States, Ukraine, Panama, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Japan, Uruguay, Puerto Rico and El Salvador. “Unfortunately, and by the time registrations closed,” they state, “the expected participants from China, Hong Kong, and other Asian countries were still under strict travel restrictions. ”The renowned international ballet teachers and directors that make up the qualifying jury – in addition to Rubén Martín Cintas, Ettiene Díaz and Gentry George, mentioned above – are Ivy Chung from the Asia Ballet Academy and Jennifer Kronenberg, director of Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami. Together with Elisabetta Hertel from Florence (Italy), Kenichi Soki from the Soki Ballet in Tokyo, Victoria Schneider from the Harid Conservatory and Miao Zong from the Ballet Opera du Rhin in France.

Lastly, Issaev and Pikieris share some insights into the subject that arouses the greatest interest in competitions of this type: prizes.

“In addition to the 16 spectacular medals that will be awarded to the winners and their respective cash prizes totaling more than $10,000, we will also include recognition for Best Choreographer, Best School, Founding Directors’ Favorite and the Competitor Encouragement Award. who has shown talent and perseverance. Trophies for the ensembles, and for the second consecutive year the beautiful statuette in honor of the Polish prima ballerina (1953-2020) Ewa Glowaska, will be delivered by the Polish Ballet Foundation. The TOP TEN of each division will also be recognized”.

In addition to the scholarships and/or job offers brought by members of the qualifying jury, representatives of the Elmhurst Ballet of England, the Royal Ballet School Antwerp of Brussels, the Sarasota Ballet, the Florida Ballet of Jacksonville and the Orlando Ballet will be present to observe the master classes and the competition itself, to make their selections and offer the corresponding scholarships. Approximately more than $90,000 in scholarships will be awarded as well as prizes in ballet merchandise gifts represented by Russian Pointe, So Dança, Ballewear, Allegro Dancewear, Ballet Buddies and many others.

Thus, it is possible to affirm that, for those who plan to participate in an event similar to this in the future, MIBC is the opportunity to become familiar with the mechanics of ballet competitions. While for lovers of the art of ballet, MIBC is an invitation that cannot be ignored, for obvious reasons.

And for the general public, MIBC 2023 is the promise of a discovery experience that will allow you to get in touch with the talent in training destined to be part of the next generation of great ballet stars.

For detailed information on all MIBC 2023 activities, including master classes and competitive rounds, Visited www.miamiibc.org or follow the event on Instagram and Facebook. The organizers warn that the schedules are subject to change.

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