The Seventh Edition of the Miami International Ballet Competition Returns to North Miami Beach

Founding Artistic Directors Vladimir Issaev and Yanis Pikieris are excited to announce the Miami International Ballet Competition’s seventh consecutive edition beginning January 17, and running through January 21, 2024, at the usual venue of Julius Littman Performing Arts Theater, with master classes hosted at Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida’s astounding studios.

Year after year, MIBC demonstrates its commitment to hosting an exceptional experience for young dancers. This 2024 edition counts with more than 100 selected participants, from 9 to 24 years old, coming from Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Colombia, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Issaev and Pikieris, the Founding Artistic Directors, established the Miami International Ballet Competition’s mission to provide a unique, positive environment where young dancers will show the best of their abilities while making connections for their future artistic careers and gaining new opportunities to nurture their professional training.

Participants compete in three categories: Individual, Pas de Deux, and Ensemble. Each of these categories is also divided into four age divisions. As always, the Jury will encompass a group of renowned ballet masters and directors, including Rubén Martín Cintas from American Ballet Theater; Ivy Chung from Asia Ballet Academy; Jennifer Kronenberg from Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami; Roberto Forleo from The Florida Ballet; Maria Torijo from BalletMet Ohio; and Tong Wang from the University of California, Irvine.

In addition to providing their respective qualifications, the jury will be part of the international faculty leading the educational component and master classes alongside the artistic directors and other guest faculty. This ensures that the participants are not only learning from the internationally acclaimed faculty but also provides the opportunity for these young artists to interact with the jury and artistic directors outside of a judging environment.

For the awarded dancers, the competition will be giving approximately $10,000 in cash awards and ballet products, courtesy of its several sponsors and more than 70 scholarships to attend the most prestigious ballet schools in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Mayara Pineiro and Ashton Roxander, Principal dancers at Philadelphia Ballet are coming to share the stage with two of the most prestigious local dance companies, Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami and NMB’s very own Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida alongside the awarded dancers at The Miami International Ballet Celebration to conclude the exciting week of events. The performance will begin approximately at 4:00 PM on Sunday, January 21 right after the awards ceremony.

By virtue of The City of North Miami Beach, all competition rounds, and the Miami International Ballet Celebration will be open and free to the public. The Julius Littman Performing Arts Theater is located at 17011 NE 19th Ave., North Miami Beach, FL 33162. Parking is free.

For more information, visit www.miamiibc.org or follow on Instagram and Facebook @miamiibc.