Competition pianist Steven Mitchell of New York, plays during a competitors class at Belhaven University in Jackson, Miss., Friday, June 13, 2014. Mitchell is the ballet pianist for the Metropolitan Opera as well as a rehearsal pianist for the American Ballet Theater. Young dancers from six continents are gathering in Jackson, Mississippi, for the USA International Ballet Competition, aiming to win prizes and further their careers. The 2014 competition runs from Saturday through June 29, with 92 competitors vying for medals, scholarships, cash and maybe a job offer from a ballet company. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
June 13, 2014 - 12:11 PM
JACKSON, Miss. - Young dancers from six continents are gathering in Jackson, Mississippi, for the USA International Ballet Competition, aiming to win prizes and further their careers.
The 2014 competition runs from Saturday through June 29, with 92 competitors vying for medals, scholarships, cash and maybe a job offer from a ballet company.
Dancers like Katherine Barkman, a 17-year-old soloist from Richboro, Pennsylvania, have been aiming at the competition for years. After rehearsing Friday, Barkman says she's been training six hours a day to get ready.
For Mississippi's capital city, it's a chance to show off the renovated auditorium hosting the competition. It's named for Thalia Mara, the dance director who brought the first competition to Jackson in 1979. IBC Director Sue Lobrano says the competition brought $10.2 million to the city in 2010.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014