An Edinburgh boy from Blackhall, Charlie Waller, is following in his big sister’s footsteps by winning a place at The Royal Ballet School in London.
Charlie is not yet 11 – he has his birthday this month – but will join Year 7 at the Lower School at White Lodge in Richmond Park. There are only a dozen places available to boys of his age and he is the only Scot to join the school – apart from big sister Emily aged 12 who was invited to join last year.
As a pupil of Edinburgh Dance Academy since he was just three he is currently attending 14 classes there every week in ballet and other dance styles. He is a Junior Associate with Scottish Ballet and was cast as Young Cinders in their production of Cinders.
Charlie said: “I’m so excited to be going to such a great school with so many other boys and girls who love dancing. I’ll miss my mum and dad and especially my little brother, Arty (aged 3), but I’m looking forward to being at school with Emily, doing ballet in a class full of boys every day and hopefully getting to perform with The Royal Ballet company at some point.”
His mum, Morag, said: “We’re so pleased that Charlie has been given this opportunity to follow his dream of becoming a professional dancer. Since he was a toddler, he has always loved dance and EDA has been crucial in helping him progress to this current level. Joining The Royal Ballet School will now enable Charlie to further develop and maximise his talent.
“While it will feel very strange not having him here under our roof and we will, of course, miss him terribly, we know how much this means to him. We’re also reassured that he and Emily will be together in London.”
Julie Mitchell, Principal and Founder at EDA, said: “Charlie is a lovely boy who has been with EDA for most of his young life. He’s got incredible drive and real talent as a dancer so we couldn’t be more pleased about him securing a place at The Royal Ballet School. We are very proud of his progress to date and we look forward to seeing him further develop his dance skills through this new and exciting chapter.”
Alumni of the school include Margot Fonteyn, Darcey Bussell and Wayne Sleep.
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