An 'ordinary' little boy known as the 'Billy Elliot' of Old Swan has landed the chance of a lifetime with an invitation to study at the Royal Ballet School.
Owen Doolan has been dancing around his living room to YouTube videos of the Nutcracker and Little Mix since he was four.
His mum Joanne was so worried her boy was going injure himself and break her furniture that she signed him up to a dance school in Old Swan where his talent soon flourished.
Now aged 10 and having won hundreds of competitive medals, Owen has danced his way into one of 12 prestigious places at The Royal Ballet School in London - beating 700 other applicants.
However, with Owen's parents, both nurses at the Royal Liverpool Hospital , unable to fund the fees of the school, the little boy could face losing his place if the family can't raise the extra £15,000.
Mum Joanne Doolan, 49, said: "This doesn't happen to people in Old Swan every day. He's had a normal upbringing and attends the local primary school St Oswalds .
"He started dancing when he was four at home watching Youtube videos of the Nutcracker and Michael Jackson and trying to copy all the jumps and turns.
"He just never stopped dancing around the living room and I thought if he doesn't learn properly he's going to hurt himself so I took him to Nazene's, the local dance school in Old Swan.
"When we're walking down the street I have to tell him not to jump or spin and he says can I skip, he's just always on the move."
The Royal Ballet School , which has trained dozens of star ballerinas including Dame Darcey Bussell and Dame Margo Fonteyn, is a charity which relies on donations and government grants to finance its £35,000 a year fees for their internationally renowned dance training.
The Doolans have set up a go fund me page to raise the extra money for the fees not covered by government grants, with only £1,000 of their £15,000 target raised so far.
Mum Joanne, who lives with Owen alongside his dad Jamie, added: "I can't believe he's got this place, me and his dad and the rest of the family are just made up for him.
"Around 700 people auditioned with some coming from all over the world and it's just amazing that he got through. He'd be devastated if he couldn't go now, it's his dream to get there but we haven't got that kind of money.
"We're going to do everything we can to raise the money to send him but anything anyone can give would be hugely appreciated."
Owen's dance teacher, Nazene Danielle, from Nazene Danielle's Dance Dynamics in Old Swan, helped Owen get the place at the Royal Ballet School after she entered him into the junior associates programme there.
She added: "When Owen first came to us it was clear he had a natural talent. Now he's gone from being someone with that natural talent to someone who's won lots of competitions and had landed this spot at the Royal Ballet School.
"He's way above his years as a dancer. It's nice to have been a part of someone's dance journey and know that you've helped lay the foundations for an amazing career."
The recent titles Owen has won at competitions include the 'Most Outstanding Boy Trophy' in London and Junior Boy at the Janet Cram Awards.
He also recently played the role of Benny in the performance 'Her Benny' at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool.
Owen's fund raising page can be found here .
