MOSCOW - Ryoma Hudzeleu won the senior solo division at the 15th International Ballet Competition in Moscow, organizers said Sunday, making him the first Japanese competitor since 2017 to secure a gold medal at one of the world's top three contests.
The 20-year-old from Tokyo has a Belarusian father and studied ballet in Belarus and Germany before joining the Mariinsky Ballet of Russia in 2025.
He defeated Russian runner-up Akib Anvar to claim the top spot in the competition, which is typically held every four years.
"I focused on bringing out the best in myself and managed to win over the audience," said Hudzeleu.
Among other Japanese contestants, Denis Watanabe, 18, ranked second in the boys' junior solo division after South Korea's Pak Kunbyulbit. Sakura Nagai, 16, won bronze in the junior solo division for girls.
Watanabe, who went to the same ballet school as Hudzeleu, said, "Although I wanted to win first place, I am delighted to have won the award alongside a senior who has pushed me to do my best (ever since we were young)."
"I want to be a dancer who can convey the beauty of ballet in countries such as Japan, Russia and the United States," said Nagai who learned ballet in Singapore and Nagoya in central Japan.
