Queensland Ballet has appointed Jun Masuda as a Principal Dancer.
Born in Osaka, Japan, Masuda arrives following seven years with Tulsa Ballet in the United States. He joined Tulsa Ballet II in 2019, entered the main company the following year and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2023.
His appointment comes during Queensland Ballet’s first curated season under Artistic Director Ivan Gil-Ortega, who has described 2026 as a new chapter shaped by connection, collaboration and creative ambition. The program brings together classical works, contemporary commissions and international choreographic voices, with productions ranging from Christian Spuck’s monumental Messa da Requiem to a new staging of The Nutcracker by Derek Deane later this year.
Masuda will make his first appearances with the company in Elegantly Wasted, a new contemporary ballet set to the music of INXS. Choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, the 65-minute work will have its world premiere at HOTA on the Gold Coast from 10 to 12 September.
Set in the polished environment of a luxury hotel lobby, Elegantly Wasted follows a group of young influencers whose carefully constructed public images begin to fracture. The production examines performance, identity, loneliness and the desire for genuine connection beneath a surface of glamour and excess.
The work continues Queensland Ballet’s partnership with HOTA and follows Elastic Hearts, its contemporary music-led collaboration set to songs by Sia. For Gil-Ortega’s inaugural season, the company has placed particular emphasis on works that bring ballet into conversation with other art forms, musical traditions and audiences.
Masuda began dancing at the age of five and completed his early training in Japan before moving to Monaco to study at the Académie Princesse Grace. He trained under Luca Masala for three years before graduating and beginning his professional career with Tulsa Ballet.
His repertoire includes the title role in Romeo and Juliet, Basilio in Don Quixote, and performances in Strictly Gershwin, Cinderella, Carmen, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Vendetta: A Mafia Story. He has also performed in Edwaard Liang’s Dorothy and Prince of Oz.
Masuda has danced works by choreographers including Alexander Ekman, Marco Goecke, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Luciano Cannito and Katarzyna Kozielska. His existing experience with Lopez Ochoa’s repertoire also provides a connection to the choreographer behind his first Queensland Ballet production.
In 2023, he appeared as a special guest alongside international artists at Youth America Grand Prix’s Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow gala at Lincoln Center in New York. His competition achievements include gold medals at Youth America Grand Prix and the Tokyo National Dance Competition, and a silver medal at the 2016 Varna International Ballet Competition.
His arrival adds another internationally experienced artist to Queensland Ballet’s senior ranks as the company develops the broader artistic direction established in Gil-Ortega’s first season.