Officials honored Hattiesburg native Alexei Orohovsky at the USA IBC Awards Ceremony Friday night at Thalia Mara Hall. The 16-year-old earned a Gold medal in the male junior division after competing in three rounds of judged performances over the course of two weeks. The USA IBC typically takes place in Jackson every four years, though the pandemic forced a five-year period between 2018 and this year's competition.
Mona Nicholas is the executive director of the USA IBC. She says a dancer from Mississippi has not taken home a medal since 1982, which makes Orohovsky's accomplishment "special."
“As a matter of fact, I saw a picture of him standing in front of the flame on Facebook during the 2014 competition,” she said. “And it said, ‘Look out 2022, here we come,’ because then it was going to be in 2022. So that's really, really special.”
Before the competition this year, Orohovsky told MPB that the biggest reward the USA IBC offers is the opportunity to build community with other international dancers.
“If I get [a medal] then that's that. But as for what I want from this competition, it's more just about the experience and being here at the IBC with many of these amazing dancers that I know and I'm friends with.” he said.
Now, Orohovsky is a two-time medalist after earning a silver medal at the Helsinki competition last year, and he says earning the top honor for his division at the USA IBC feels "unreal."
“Being from Mississippi, this competition means a lot to me,” he said. “I feel it's one of the few times, especially in the South, that ballet is really highlighted every four years. … It really highlights, you know, what we're doing as an art form and a profession.”
Orohovsky is one of four finalists out of 14 that represented the United States. He will now resume his ballet training in Germany.
