JACKSON, Miss., June 28, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nina Ananiashvili, prima ballerina and artistic director, returns to Jackson, Mississippi, in July to perform with the State Ballet of Georgia in the Grand Prix Reunion Gala presented by the USA International Ballet Competition (USA IBC).
The performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at Thalia Mara Hall, where Ananiashvili made history three decades ago as one of the first Soviet dancers to participate in the USA IBC, the official international ballet competition for the United States. Ananiashvili and her partner, Andris Liepa, won the first City of Jackson Grand Prix Award, the USA IBC’s highest honor. Only two other dancers have won the award in the seven ballet competitions held in Jackson since then.
“When Nina Ananiashvili captured the Grand Prix in Jackson, she also won the hearts of USA IBC audiences,” notes Mona Nicholas, USA IBC executive director. “We are thrilled to bring one of the greatest ballerinas of all time back to Jackson to perform with the State Ballet of Georgia.”
John Meehan, Jury Chair for the 2018 USA IBC, recalls watching Ananiashvili on the Jackson stage in 1986. “It was clear to those who were there that she would have an important career,” he said. “She soon became the reigning ballerina at the Bolshoi Ballet, a great star of the American Ballet Theater, and a frequent guest artist in companies throughout the world.”
In December 2015, The Telegraph (United Kingdom) named Ananiashvili No. 6 of the “12 greatest ballerinas of all time.” She is the only dancer to win the top awards of international ballet competitions in Moscow, Varna and Jackson.
Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Ananiashvili became artistic director of the State Ballet of her home country in 2004. She has continued to dance as she has directed and broadened the repertoire of the company.
The Jackson performance will feature Ananiashvili as Marguerite in Frederick Ashton’s “Marguerite and Armand.” The State Ballet of Georgia will perform “Sagalobeli,” choreographed by Yuri Possokhov to Georgian folk melodies, and “Concerto Barocco,” one of the George Balanchine works added to the company’s repertoire under Ananiashvili.
The Grand Prix Reunion Gala festivities begin with a free lecture demonstration at noon Friday, July 15, at Thalia Mara Hall.
The Saturday, July 16, schedule includes master classes with John Meehan and Ananiashvili at Belhaven University. For more information on the performance and schedule, visit usaibc.com or call 601-355-9853. For tickets, visit usaibc.tix.com.
The USA International Ballet Competition is presented under the auspices of UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute, International Dance Committee, and designated the official international ballet competition for the United States by Joint Resolution of Congress. www.usaibc.com