Nearly half of the 34 finalists announced Monday were from Asian countries.
The USA IBC, considered the United States' official international ballet competition, began June 12 with 103 dancers. They're all competing for medals, cash awards, company contracts and scholarships.
The winners of the two-week competition will be announced Friday.
Among the Asian finalists are 16 dancers from the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan. Officials say the United States and European countries have the next largest contingent of finalists with five each.
