Japanese Dancers Win Ballet Prizes in Moscow

Tokyo, July 5 (Jiji Press)–Ryoma Hudzeleu, a Japanese national from Mitaka, Tokyo, has won the gold medal in the senior men’s solo category at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow, held at the Bolshoi Theater in the Russian capital. After winning first prize in the competition held on Saturday, Hudzeleu, 20, who has a Belarusian father and a Japanese mother, said, “I’m happy because my skills have improved.” At the previous competition in 2022, he won the silver medal in the boys’ duet category. In this year’s boys’ solo category, Denis Watanabe, 18, also from Mitaka, won the silver medal, while Sakura Nagai, 16, from Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, received the bronze medal in the girls’ solo category. Hudzeleu grew up exposed to ballet from an early age and began pursuing it in earnest after going to Belarus at age 12 to study ballet. In September 2025, he joined the Mariinsky Theatre, a historic theater in Russia’s St. Petersburg, where he is currently performing. Watanabe, whose father is also from Belarus and who has been a childhood friend of Hudzeleu, said he was frustrated with the result despite winning the silver medal. Meanwhile, Nagai said, “I never expected to win” the bronze medal. “My steady practice has been recognized,” she said. “I’m glad I entered the competition,” she said with a smile. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]