HE'S just ten years old, is mad about ballet and has won parts in major productions. Sound familiar?
Not surprisingly, everyone who knows Hampshire schoolboy Ashley Whittle is calling him the "real-life Billy Elliot", after the hero of the eponymous British film about a young ballet star that entranced film-goers last year.
Ashley, of Trimaran Road, Warsash, is currently preparing for his latest stage role in a new ballet version of Noel Streatfield's classic children's story Ballet Shoes for the London Children's Ballet.
The show, in which Ashley plays two key roles, runs at The Peacock Theatre in London from May 17 to 20.
It is not the first time the youngster has appeared in a big London production. Last year, he achieved every young ballet dancer's dream by appearing with the Bolshoi Ballet in Don Quixote at The Coliseum.
Ashley, a pupil at Hook-with-Warsash School, said he had been dancing virtually all his life.
"I was about 18 months old when I started dancing. I've been doing ballet since I was three - I saw it on TV and thought I might as well give it a go," said Ashley, who has won numerous awards for his first-class performances - including four cups in the recent Isle of Wight Festival.
For Ashley, just like Billy (played in the film by Jamie Bell), ballet is a passion rather than just a hobby.
Ashley devotes several hours every week to dance, including travelling to the Isle of Wight and back every week - a journey that takes two and a half hours each way - to attend classes. He is also a junior associate of the Royal Ballet.
He had to go undergo two auditions before getting the part in Ballet Shoes. Parents Jenny and Tim and 12-year-old sister Abbey - also a dancer - are proud of his incredible achievements.
Jenny said: "I'm really pleased. I always knew he was keen on ballet. But he has never been still - he's always on the move."
Ashley's ambition now is to be a principal dancer in Swan Lake. Just like Billy Elliot, there's every indication he will achieve his dreams.
Perhaps one day Ashley will actually get to see the film, but with a 15 certificate he's got a few years to wait.
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