At just seven years of age Portadown-born Leigh Alderson pulled on his first pair of ballet pumps and told his mother he wanted to go to dance classes. There was just something about it he found fulfilling, intoxicating even. Since then he hasn’t stop dancing, securing a highly coveted place at the world famous Royal Ballet School in London.
The documentary first shown in 2004 catches up with Leigh as he prepares to launch his professional career. The question is now where will Leigh’s destiny lead him next? Will he secure a place in Royal Ballet Company or will circumstance take him in another direction?
Leigh said: “I could never figure out what it was that made me want to dance. I just knew I had to. From the moment I pulled on my first ballet pumps something inside me was driving me forward. At that moment, aged seven, my fate was sealed.”
With the help of documentary footage shot several years ago, the programme plots this young Portadown man’s journey from childhood to adulthood. Flashbacks to Leigh’s early dancing classes in Portadown and Lisburn reveal his unswerving passion for dance.
All is not plain sailing, as a perfectionist Leigh challenges himself as much as his adjudicators. His devotion and passion for dance is not in doubt but he is also his own toughest taskmaster.
“I have been incredibly negative towards myself, it’s very hard for me to see the more positive aspects, especially whenever you have a mirror in front of you and everyday is not a good day,” Leigh said.
Producer, Clare Delargy says: “I was struck also by the dedication and hard work of Leigh and his contemporaries, in fact the whole school, working together to produce world class dancers. Unlike the instant fame of “X factor” and “Pop Idol” these young people had to wait a long time for their “moment ” and then only after years of hard work and self-sacrifice do they achieve something. What price fame?”