Kang Mi-sun, a principal ballerina at Universal Ballet, won best female dancer award at the Benois de la Danse on Tuesday.

The prestigious annual ballet competition in Moscow is dubbed the “Academy Awards” of ballet.

This year’s Benois de la Danse took place at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and awarded Kang and China’s Qiu Yunting of the National Ballet of China.

The 40-year-old Kang was praised for portraying the lead role, a widow, in “Mirinaegil,” premiered by the Universal Ballet in Seoul in March.

“Honestly, I had completely no expectations as I was emptying my mind. I was truly surprised when my name was called, and I am grateful to receive this honorable award,” she told Yonhap News Agency after receiving the honor.

The Benois de la Danse was founded in 1991 by the International Dance Association to celebrate Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), a trailblazer in ballet.

A jury evaluates creative pieces performed that year by the world’s top ballet companies.

Kang is the fifth Korean to take home an honor from the competition, following Kang Sue-jin (1999), Kim Joo-won (2006), Kim Ki-min (2016) and Park Sae-eun (2018).

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]