British Dance Wonder Joins The Bolshoi Ballet

8:34am UK, Friday May 08, 2009

A 16-year-old dancer is heading for Russia to join the Bolshoi Ballet Academy after a mystery benefactor stepped in to pay his £12,000 fees.

Daniel's journey has been compared to the Billy Elliott story

Daniel Dolan is only the third British male ever to be accepted into the prestigious school in its 233-year history.

Daniel started ballet at the age of four and has attended the Hammond School of Performing Arts in Cheshire since he was eleven, but he told Sky News he is astonished at his success.

"All we did was my sister filmed me and I did an amateur edit, and that was it. It's absolutely amazing and fills me with joy. I know I'll have to work hard but I'm really looking forward to it."

The Bolshoi Academy in Moscow is regarded as the toughest ballet training school in the world, with its male dancers known for their strength and power.

Daniel and his family have no idea who has donated his entrance fees, or why.

Daniel's mother, Carol, said: "It makes you realise there are nice people out there. We would have really struggled to send Daniel to Moscow without his help."

The teenager has won scholarships for his dance training so far, and his journey has been compared to Billy Elliott - the story of a young boy who overcame the odds to become a ballet dancer.

"I don't mind at all," Daniel says of that. "Billy Elliott worked really hard and so have I - it shows you can achieve whatever you want if you work hard."