Two teenage Filipino dancers of Ballet Manila will be competing in the junior division of the prestigious USA International Ballet Competition (IBC) to be held in Jackson, Mississippi in June.

Ballet Manila company artist Nicole Barroso, 16, and junior company artist Joshua Enciso, 18, are among the 53 dancers from all over the world selected to compete in USA IBC.

This is the first time that dancers from the Philippines have been chosen for the competition's junior division.

"I feel like a winner already that Ballet Manila has a junior couple in Jackson. It’s a first for our country!" prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, the company’s artistic director, said in a statement.

Macuja-Elizalde was a semi-finalist in the same competition in 1990.

Meanwhile, Ballet Manila principal dancer Katherine Barkman, 21, was also accepted into the USA IBC senior category.

She will be dancing with non-competing partner Joseph Philips, who is currently a guest artist of Ballet Manila.

Barkman was a semi-finalist in the competition's junior division in 2014.

According to Macuja-Elizalde, the junior competition is tougher than the senior one, but Barroso and Enciso could have an edge over their peers.

"Nicole and Joshua have been dancing together for quite some time now whether in competition, festivals or gala performances so they should have relatively more performance experience than their counterparts in their division," she said.

Barkman won the top prize at the annual Asian Grand Prix International Ballet Competition in Hong Kong in 2015. She also received the gold medal (Women’s Senior Classical Division) at the 2014 Youth American Grand Prix in Philadelphia, and was a finalist at the 2014 Youth American Grand Prix in New York City.

Barroso won first place in the junior category of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Ballet Competition in 2016. She also received back-to-back silver medals in the Asian Grand Prix in 2015 and 2016.

Enciso was a finalist in the 2017 Asian Grand Prix last August, and in the 2016 CCP Ballet Competition. Both he and Barroso have represented Ballet Manila in the Dance Open International Ballet Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, and in the Beijing Dance Performance Series for Dance Schools, both in 2016.

Held every four years, the USA IBC received over 300 video submissions which the selection committee trimmed down to only 118 dancers whose names were officially announced March 15.

It is regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious competitions for its rich history, quality of judging and level of competition. At stake are more than $150,000 in cash prizes, as well as medals, company contracts, apprenticeships and scholarships.