Japanese Dancer Wins Award At Lausanne
A young Japanese dancer has won an award at a prestigious ballet competition in Switzerland.
Fuchiyama Shunhei placed fifth at the annual Prix de Lausanne, which is widely viewed as a gateway to success for dancers between the ages of 15 and 18.
Videos of 20 dancers, including three from Japan, were shown at Saturday's finals. Each dancer gave performances to classical and contemporary music.
The unusual video show was adopted as the dancers were not able to go to Lausanne this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Fuchiyama, an 18-year-old from Saitama, near Tokyo, gave a brilliant and dynamic performance to Grand Pas Classique by Daniel Auber.
Fuchiyama has trained in his home city since March of last year after he returned from the United States. His ballet school in Florida closed because of the coronavirus outbreak.
He expressed his gratitude to the staff of the contest for hosting the event amid the pandemic. He also thanked his teachers and family members.
He said he wants to become a principal dancer of a renowned ballet company.