Ballet brothers

AS the film Billy Elliot showed, it is unusual enough for one boy from a working-class industrial family to win a place at the Royal Ballet school. Tomorrow, however, Reece Clarke, 11, will become the fourth son of an unemployed former steelworker to enter Britain’s most prestigious dance academy.

Reece is following in the footsteps of his brothers Ross, 23, Russell, 18, and Ryan, 12, by joining the elite school, which counts Dame Margot Fonteyn and Darcey Bussell among its alumnae.

The success of the brothers from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, echoes the plot of the 2000 film in which a working-class boy from a Co Durham mining community overcomes adversity to land a place at the school.

Like the fictional Elliot, the brothers endured hardship and playground name-calling in their town, which is better known for factory closures than producing classical ballet dancers.

The Clarkes, whose father Robert is disabled, shared a humble upbringing in a three-bedroom semi, surviving on incapacity benefits. However, neighbours and local businesses have helped to pay for the brothers’ tuition, travel and equipment, while the school has provided full scholarships.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d get four sons into the Royal Ballet school,” said Robert, 48, whose father was a miner. “I keep pinching myself and saying, is this real? I mean, basically we’ve got ourselves four true-life Billy Elliots.”