A TALENTED ballet dancer still has a spring in his step — despite breaking his foot after landing a place on two prestigious dance programmes.

Jack Burns from Greenock has secured a spot on a course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has also been accepted onto an associates programme at Scottish Ballet.

The dedicated dancer says the news has cheered him up after he fractured his foot during dance practice.

Jack, 12, said: “At the Royal Conservatoire audition, I was one of about 100 others to perform.

“I was quite nervous before the audition as you only have once chance and it’s all down to how you perform that day.

“Only 15 of us were picked so I’m very happy.

“I’ve had to stop dancing at the moment as I’ve broken my foot.

“I was dancing and I jumped up and when I landed, my right foot slipped under my left leg.

“But it’s not held me back and I hope to be dancing again soon.”
Jack’s mum Karen says she’s very proud of her son’s achievements.
She said: “I think it’s amazing, considering he’s only been dancing for just over two years.

“It’s all down to him — he’s really driven.

“Last week I watched him dance at his graduation from Scottish Ballet’s Junior Associate programme.

“He just lights up when he dances and has the biggest smile on his face.”

Just like the Royal Conservatoire programme, Jack impressed at his audition for the Scottish Ballet course.

Out of 600 applicants, Jack was one of only 20 to secure a place.

He trains at local ballet school Elite Academy of Dance which is run by Julie Kavanagh.

Jack, who attends St Columba’s School in Kilmacolm, is not the only talented performer in his family.

His eight-year-old brother Rory is an accomplished actor who won a role in hit time-travel series Outlander and has also worked on lucrative modelling campaigns for top brands like Dunelm and Virgin Media.

Jack, who is wearing a leg brace until his foot heals, hopes to be back dancing some time over the next four to six weeks.