220 A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION Every four years an Olympics-style ballet competition comes to Jackson. Hundreds of talented young dancers from around the world compete in front of judges, ballet instructors, and ballet company directors. The competition rotates between Varna, Bulgaria; Moscow, Russia; Tokyo, Japan; and Jackson. At the first competition Jackson hosted in 1979, seventy dancers from fifteen different countries participated. In the 2013 competition, more than 100 participants from twenty-one countries competed for gold medals, cash prizes, and job opportunities. PHOTO BY GREG CAMPBELL