Growing up gay on an estate in Tameside, Nic Lee remembers being relentlessly bullied.
At its worst, he recalls, his head was slammed off a car bonnet in a violent attack. Nic wanted nothing more than to fit in.
So he turned into what he describes as a “bad kid”, stealing money from his mum and take beers from the fridge to prove himself to his peers.
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But there was one passion that allowed him to escape the torment he was suffering - dance. Though he’d loved the hobby from a young age, Nic, now 17, spent lockdown learning how to dance professionally from his box bedroom in Ashton.
After building his skills through a local contemporary dance group, he’s now been offered a spot at a top dance academy in London – becoming one of the youngest people to ever be accepted at the school.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the teenager said: “The whole childhood thing was really rough. I didn’t have a sense of direction in anything. The environment I grew up in wasn’t great and growing up was kind of awful.
“The people who lived around me were the type of kids who set garages on fire and things like that. All these people were awful and at some point they all turned on me because I came out as gay. I used to be awfully bullied by all of them.
“Growing up gay was never really easy. I knew I was for so long but when I came out pretty early at the age of like 10 everybody had an opinion and this led to me being bullied every single day by people on the estate.
“They egged my house, hit my head if a car door, physically and verbally abused me, played knock-a-door-run on my house and there were times where called the police and reported it to the council even where I couldn’t leave my house. I was only 11 and my mental health was in the bin. I always ran away and did things that kids shouldn’t do.”
Having now been offered a place at London Contemporary Dance School, Nic is set to leave sixth form college early to start the prestigious three-year course this September.
Nic’s journey with dance really began while at Wright Robinson College in Gorton when local dance group Company Chameleon held a workshop.
Nic, who was 14 at the time, was immediately smitten with their free and creative style of movement.
Chatting to the workshop leaders afterwards, Nic discovered they were impressed with his natural ability to move and were keen for him to audition for their young people's dance company called Chameleon Youth.
However, unsure how he would be able to pay the subsidised £100 a year fee, Nic missed the deadline. The following year, the country was in lockdown and all classes were cancelled.
When Company Chameleon's affordable Saturday morning young people's dance sessions moved online to Zoom, workshop leaders were delighted when Nic decided to join.
Taking part in the regular online group sessions ignited Nic's passion for dance, and throughout lockdown, he spent four hours each day self-teaching by watching and imitating other dancers.
Once the country finally opened up again, Nic was able to audition for Chameleon Youth and won himself a place. “Somewhere out of the blue I decided dance was going to be a career,” he said.
“I always wanted to do dance as a kid but we could never afford lessons growing up. Before I did dance at GCSE, I taught myself a bit.
“Then lockdown happened when I was in year nine and there was a fire inside of me. I was just dancing all the time and I really started to teach myself.
“I was researching classes on how to get stronger in the body and how dancers are athletes. I started doing HIIT classes and at-home palates and yoga. It was in a tiny, tiny bedroom that had zero space whatsoever – it was a fight to get space to dance.”
Through his membership of the youth dance company, Nic has performed at The Lowry, New Adelphi Theatre and Phoenix Dance Theatre plus outdoor festivals such as Manchester Day Parade, Green Space Dark Skies and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant in London.
"The timing of me getting my place couldn't have been more perfect and it feels like everything's come full circle,” Nic added.
“Amazingly, I was on work experience at Company Chameleon when I got an email saying I'd passed my audition and interview.
"I was totally in shock as I didn't think I did that well. And for a 17-year-old to get in is pretty rare. It was just perfect to be able to share this moment with Company Chameleon as this really is where my dance journey started.
"I was already doing a dance GCSE before I joined, but I would never have been dancing at the high level needed to get into London Contemporary Dance School, and I wouldn't have known about other opportunities like National Youth Dance Company that have really opened my eyes to what's possible.
"Some of my older friends from Chameleon Youth are already at London Contemporary Dance School and it is an absolute dream come true to be able to go and join them.
"My advice for others is to NEVER apologise for who you are or feel the need to label yourself, the only person you are on this planet for is yourself and learning to accept yourself is the greatest skill you can have because as cliché as it sounds, if you can’t accept you, then you can’t expect others to!"
Sam Broadbent, learning and participation manager at Company Chameleon, said: "I can remember our workshop leaders coming back from Wright Robinson and telling us about Nic.
"They said not only was he an amazing mover, he was so confident and mature, even at 14. They still talk about how Nic came for a chat at the end of the session and totally impressed them and how they really hoped he would start to come along to Chameleon Youth.
"We are over the moon that Nic was eventually able to join us and being able to support him over the last few years with dance school applications and auditions has been our absolute pleasure. Nic very much deserves his place in London and we are excited to follow his progress and see what happens next. We are expecting big things!"
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