A TEENAGER is taking his next step towards realising a childhood dream after winning a scholarship to a prestigious dance school.

Seventeen-year-old Joey Goodwin is celebrating after finding out a chance audition last month has won him a place at Performers College in Essex.

“You always hope something is going to come out of an audition but it was a huge surprise,” said Joey, a student at the Judith Hockaday School of Dance and Drama.

“Originally I wasn’t going to audition this year; at the last minute I thought I would audition just for a bit of experience. Then I found out they wanted me and then they gave me the scholarship. It was a bit of an accident really.”

Joey competed against 80 other dancers during a gruelling day of auditions including a physiotherapy assessment, classes in ballet and jazz, singing and drama as well as an interview.

Now after winning the government funded DaDa scholarship, awarded to about 30 students at the college each year and which will pay for all his school fees, Joey is preparing to start the three-year course. He will continue to develop his tap, ballet, and modern dancing skills as well as drama and singing and taking part in numerous performances.

He said: “I’m very excited, nervous, but excited, and it’s all getting a bit closer. My dream is to be on the West End in a West End show, but anything to do with theatre and performing is what I want to do.”

Joey said: “I just want to say a big thank you to Miss Hockaday, she’s been absolutely amazing and without her none of this would have happened.”

Joey who lives in Oakhurst, started dancing when he was five years old learning Latin, ballroom, and street dance.

When he was 11 he took up ballet, which is now his favourite style. Ever since then he has been working his way towards his dream of becoming a professional dancer.

As well as training eight hours every day in school and carrying out his own workout at home, Joey also teaches throughout Swindon and Oxfordshire.

Judith Hockaday, principal at the dance school in Old Town, said: ”I am really pleased. He’s a nice boy too and he’s worked really hard. He’s done an amazing amount since last September.

He will be a really nice teacher too.”