From ‘bag of sugar’ baby to ballet star: Dudley dancer's appeal over dream stage future

And despite his shaky start to life, the teenager from Dudley is in better physical shape than most boys his age.

Now his daily dance regime has paid off with the offer of a place at the world-renowned English National Ballet School.

"I didn't realise until a couple of years back that I absolutely wanted to pursue ballet as a career," said James.

"I realised this is actually becoming quite an addiction – it was a challenge to get better and keep pushing forward."

His achievement is made even more remarkable by his roots in traditional, working-class Netherton. While other lads were outside playing football, James was indoors dancing.

His obsession "just wasn't understood" by friends at Hillcrest School in Netherton but he found more support following a move to Birmingham Ormiston Academy, specialising in performing arts.

The film Billy Elliott, about a miner's son who faced prejudice for his love of ballet, made him realise "if someone coming from a background like that can become a professional ballet dancer, than a normal person like me can do it."

His mother Caroline Garrington said that as he lay in the special care unit at Wordsley Hospital during the first nine weeks of his life she used to read him inspiring stories pinned on the wall written by other special care babies who had grown up.

"They provided hope at a time of great worry," she said. "We wondered how this early start would affect him but he has surprised us throughout his life."

With Debonair Dance Academy in Cradley Heath which he attended from the age of five, James has danced at The Royal Albert Hall, the O2 Arena, Sadler's Wells, Her Majesty’s Theatre and Disneyland Paris.

Along the way he has picked up prizes and scholarships including a recent Bronze in the British Ballet Grand Prix and a scholarship for Atlanta Ballet for 2020.

He has been a Royal Ballet associate member and danced with the English Youth Ballet, Alba Ballet in Scotland and participated in Sleeping Beauty Dreams with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

His godfather Richard Humphries has launched a Just Giving page to raise £18,000 towards the cost of fees, accommodation, uniform, medical insurance and physiotherapy at ballet school.

He wrote: "We are immensely proud, not simply because he is so talented, but because he has worked incredibly hard to achieve his dream. It would be so frustrating for him not to take his passions further because of funding."

His mother Caroline added: "As a family, we are doing everything we can to support him in this venture but we are looking to raise any further funds to realise this dream."

James' crowdfunding page can be found at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/forjamesg