‘Selection in English National Ballet School Like Winning Lottery’

Kamal Singh, son of a rickshaw driver, made his way to the prestigious English National Ballet School In London

Kamal Singh, from New Delhi, is the first Indian to be chosen by the prestigious English National Ballet School in London.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/The Quint)

Video Editor: Sandeep Suman
Video Producer: Maaz Hasan

Never stop chasing your dreams because they do come true. I am proof. In fact, the reality is beyond my imagination and wildest dreams.

Till the age of 17, I didn’t know much about ballet. When I first saw the Bollywood movie ‘ABCD: Any Body Can Dance’ on television, I was mesmerised by the way dancers were jumping and turning, holding up their dance partners with one hand. This intrigued and inspired me. That is when I decided to learn ballet.

My father is a rickshaw driver, so it was difficult for him to help me pursue this as a career, because of the cost involved.

Fortunately, I got a scholarship at the Imperial Fernando Ballet Company in Delhi after auditioning there.

Thanks to my maestro, Fernando Aguilera, and the director of IFBC, Rafi Khan, I started training and was able to hone my skills over time.

However, this was not an easy task as I had to travel everyday from my home to the school, which was more than one-and-a-half hour’s journey. I didn’t have money to travel everyday.

Luckily, my mentors supported my dreams and gave me an evening job as a receptionist at the school, to support my expenses.

After 3 Years of Training, Dreams Turned Into Reality

Until September this year, everything was normal. I used to train every day for 10 to 12 hours. My maestro always used to inspire me with his motivating and positive guidance.

He always said that I would be going abroad, but I didn’t know if it was going to happen for me.

I was elated to learn that I became the first Indian to be selected by the English National Ballet School In London!

Photo Courtesy: Kamal Singh

Photo Courtesy: Kamal Singh

Photo Courtesy: Kamal Singh

Photo Courtesy: Kamal Singh

“It’s something that was not in my plan. We didn’t know about this school or that they are going to choose me. Nobody knew. I think this is a lottery. You have to submit your videos and photos and biodata and you have to wait. They may or may not call you.”

Still, despite getting selected for the English National Ballet School, it was difficult for me and my family to bear the fee of the school and other expenses, like food, lodging, travelling, and so on.

Since I come from a humble family, arranging this sum was a very big task. My maestro suggested that I should crowdfund my fee.

Soon, I started getting donations from a lot of people. I even got a donation of Rs 3,00,000 from Hrithik Roshan’s company HRX Films.

I am in London now, working hard to make this opportunity count. It is my goal to become a principal dancer in the English National Ballet Company or any other ballet company, if they choose to have me. That is my dream, and I am going to make it.

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