Awaji city officials and residents have welcomed the Ukrainian evacuees, saying the ballet project will help revitalize the island -- both culturally and economically -- and raise its international profile.

"In a region with no ties with ballet, we initially were not sure how best to host the evacuees," said Awaji Mayor Yasuhiko Kado. "But with Ms. Hariyama assisting them in cross-cultural communications and Pasona allowing them to focus on dancing and teaching, the project has been taking root."

"The city government will continue to extend as much assistance as possible to the evacuees," Kado said in an interview at his office, citing language translation equipment and aid for other life-related issues.

Local residents are hoping that more people will visit the island and watch ballet performances, especially as Expo 2025 starting April in Osaka is expected to boost the number of inbound tourists.

With Hariyama poised to step up the troupe's performances, enrich their contents and include dancers from other countries, world-renowned Ukrainian ballet dancer Vladimir Malakhov says the Awaji project has the potential to grow eventually into a ballet company.

Malakhov, a former artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet who has long worked with Hariyama, suggests that the troupe increase its repertoire and establish its reputation in Japan and abroad so that it can garner more support, both in terms of fan base and financing.

"They have a lot of interesting ideas about incorporating elements of Japanese arts and culture into ballet," Malakhov said on the sidelines of the Japan International Ballet Festival in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, on Dec. 25.

"They must have more repertories to present, like contemporary, classic and neoclassic works," he said. "They performed in Latvia and the Czech Republic, but they need to show more in Europe or even in Asia such as Taiwan, South Korea and China."