World's Top Athletes Compete Fiercely at DanceSport World Championship ~ 25th Tokyo Open DanceSport Championship

<To the Press> The Japan DanceSport Federation (JDSF) will hold the "25th Tokyo Open DanceSport Championship" on Saturday, May 23rd and Sunday, May 24th, 2026, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

❖ Tournament Overview

Tournament Name: The 25th Tokyo Open DanceSport Championship

Dates: Saturday, May 23rd, 2026 - Sunday, May 24th, 2026

Venue: Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium (1-17-1 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)

Organizer: Japan DanceSport Federation (Public Interest Incorporated Association) Co-organizer: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Special Sponsor: SJI Lowe

Sponsor: Bourbon Corporation

Support: Japan Sports Agency, Japan Sport Association (Public Interest Incorporated Foundation), Mainichi Shimbun

Competition Content

WDSF PD Super Grand Prix Standard

WDSF Open Latin

WDSF International Open Standard

JDSF Senior III Open Standard

JDSF Rising Star Open Standard

JDSF Junior II Open Standard Latin

JDSF Solo Junior II Open Samba, Cha-Cha-Cha, Waltz, Quickstep

25th Tokyo Open Special Website URL: https://www.jdsf.or.jp/competition/tokyoopen2026/

25th Tokyo Open Flyer

❖ Featured Athletes

The main competitions will primarily consist of the following three categories:

[1] WDSF World Championship PD Super Grand Prix Standard Division

● This will be a high-level competition featuring an incredible gathering of world-class athletes, including Vadim Shurin – Anastasia Meshkova (Latvia), currently ranked 2nd in the world and who placed 2nd at last year's Tokyo Open, Edgaras Baltaragis – Indre Baltarage (Lithuania), ranked 3rd in the world and showing remarkable growth, and Nikita Anikeev – Elina Kokotoba (AIN). There will be many highlights.

● From Japan, the pair Yujin Hiroshima and Sakina Onishi, who formed a couple last year, will be striving for the finals.

[2] WDSF Open Latin (Adult) Division

● Jakub Lipowski – Tereza Kucerova (Czech Republic), winners of last year's Tokyo Open, will participate aiming for consecutive victories.

This time, Konstantin Gorodilov – Polina Figurenko (Estonia) will make their first visit to Japan as a challenger.

They are young, rapidly developing athletes who have recently climbed to 2nd in the world rankings, so their match-up will be a major highlight.

● From Japan, attention will be on the performances of young athletes like Tatsuya Imanashi and Hinari Onishi, and Kenshin Whiton and Kanami Whiton.

[3] WDSF International Open Standard Division

● World Champions Cojoc Rares – Matei Andrees (Romania) are scheduled to visit Japan. Furthermore, with Dariusz Mycka – Madara Freiberga (Poland) and Dmitri Kolobov – Signe Busk (Denmark) also joining, a spectacular battle between the world's top three is likely to unfold here at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

From Japan, pairs like Minato Kojima and Megumi Morita will aim for the finals.

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❖ What is the Tokyo Open DanceSport Championship?

The Tokyo Open was first held on March 21st, 1999, at the Komazawa Olympic Park Indoor Ball Game Field, inspired by the first IDSF (now WDSF) World Championship held in Japan in 1998. With the desire to elevate the level of Japanese dance sports and to show many people the charm of world-class dance sports, it has since become the pinnacle of dance sport competitions held domestically, attracting athletes from around the world as a WDSF-accredited competition, competing against Japan's top athletes with brilliant techniques and performances. Although some competitions have been cancelled due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the continuous support of dance sport fans, this year marks its 25th anniversary.

❖ What is DanceSport?

"DanceSport" is a competitive sport that has uniquely developed from "Ballroom Dance," also known as "Social Dance," by pursuing its athletic aspects. Broadly divided by music genre, it includes Standard disciplines (Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Quickstep) and Latin disciplines (Samba, Cha-Cha-Cha, Rumba, Paso Doble).