June 15-30, 2002
At the 2002 competition, Miami City Ballet performed Rubies and Mambo No. 2 a.m. during the opening night ceremonies. Guest artists were Adrienne Canterna and Rasta Thomas, both gold medal winners at the 1998 USA IBC. Edward Villella, founding artistic director of Miami City Ballet, served as honorary chairman of the competition. Competitors were chosen by Dennis Nahat, Lupe Serrano and Marcello Angelini, and Bruce Simpson and Daniel Simmons served as competitor evaluators.
In 2002, the USA IBC sponsored exhibits featuring both Peter Farmer’s exquisite costume designs and Howard Schatz’s luminous underwater photographs. The official USA IBC poster in 2002 was based on an original oil painting by Kennith Humphry of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago played to a full house as part of the company’s three-day residency, which also included a master class and a lecture demonstration. Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) produced a documentary titled Dancers and aired it throughout the state. MPB has since offered the program for distribution in Europe.
During the seventh competition in 2002, Thalia Mara was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award and a gold medal for her long career in the arts.
This emotional ceremony paid homage to the founder of the USA IBC, surrounding her with colleagues, friends and hundreds of red roses.
On the heels of the 2002 competition, the USA IBC was chosen as a recipient of the SUMITT Award as “Event of the Year” by the Metro Jackson Visitor Industry Council and also received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2002, the competition was also selected as one of the “Top 100 Events in North America” by the American Bus Association.
Medalists
Senior Division
Gold:
- Wu Haiyan (China)
Silver:
- Li Jun (China), Sarah Lamb (USA)
Bronze:
- Mikhail Ilyin (Russia)
- Katia Carranza (Mexico)
Junior Division
Gold:
- Joseph Phillips (USA)
Silver:
- Danny Tidwell (USA)
- Sarah Kathryn Lane (USA)
Bronze:
- Yudai Fukuoka (Japan)
- Yang Jiao (China)
- Sang Yi Han (South Korea)
Special Awards
Best Senior Couple:
- Eve Andre (Estonia)
- Sergei Upkin (Estonia)
Pointe Magazine Choreography Award:
- Wang Yuanyuan
Robert Joffrey Award of Merit:
- Emi Hariyama (Japan)
Jury Award of Encouragement:
- Agnieszka Szymanska (Poland)
- Troy Schumacher (USA)
HeinzBoslBallet Foundation Scholarships:
- Keigo Fukuda (Japan)
- Michelle Carpenter (USA)
Dance Magazine Scholarship:
- Eun Ji Ha (South Korea)
WorldCom Scholarship:
- Zhang Jing (China)
Jury Award:
- Melissa Hough (USA)
- Ashley Canterna (USA)
Jurors
- Bruce Marks, Chairman, USA
- Valentin Yelizariev, Belarus
- Zhao Ruheng, China
- Loipa Araújo, Cuba
- Jana Kurová, Czech Republic
- Frank Andersen, Denmark
- Galina Samsova, England
- Doris Laine, Finland
- Dietmar Seyffert, Germany
- Kenji Usui, Japan
- Denise Schultze Godfrey, South Africa
- Hae Shik Kim, South Korea
- Nina Novak, Venezuela