Japan’s Goto Wins 2nd Place at Varna Int’l Ballet Competition

July 30, 2018

Berlin- Japan's Haruto Goto, 18, has won second place in the junior division of male dancers at the Varna International Ballet Competition, which is regarded as one of the three most prestigious ballet contests in the world.

Among other Japanese competitors, three dancers were placed third in their respective categories--Itsuki Omori, 18, in the junior male division, 16-year-old Elena Iseki in the junior female division and Miyu Takamori, 19, in the senior female division.

The names of the prize winners in the competition in Bulgaria were announced on Saturday and their rankings on Sunday.

The recipients, including Goto, performed in front of a cheering audience after the award ceremony.

Goto started ballet from a young age at a school in his hometown of Kikuyo, Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan. He is currently studying at a ballet school in Berlin.

The Varna ballet competition, which started in 1964, is held approximately once every two years. Japan's Yoko Morishita won first place in the 1974 contest. Jiji Press