'Nigeria's Billy Elliot', 14, who was offered a place at prestigious UK ballet school when a video of him pirouetting in the rain went viral reveals he thought he may never dance professionally because he's blind in one eye

A 14-year-old Nigerian dancer who was offered a place at a prestigious ballet school has spoken about his fear that being blind in one eye would stop him from dancing. 

Anthony Madu, from Lagos, caught the internet's attention in 2020 when a clip of him skilfully pirouetting in the rain at just 11 years old went viral and was shared by Hollywood actress Viola Davis. 

Since then, he has been offered a scholarship at one of the UK's most elite ballet schools, Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham. 

Anthony, who has been dubbed 'Nigeria's Billy Elliot', spoke on Good Morning Britain today about how his life has changed over the past four years. 

He said: 'It was really, really exciting and also kind of unreal. I wanted to go to ballet school but I didn't think I'd get into a school like Elmhurst. It was exciting but also hard because I had to leave my family.

Anthony Madu, from Lagos, as been offered a scholarship at one of the UK's most elite ballet schools, Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham

He caught the internet's attention in 2020 when a clip of him skilfully pirouetting in the rain at just 11 years old went viral and was shared by Hollywood actress Viola Davis

'I keep in touch with my mum everyday.' 

Anthony is also largely blind in one eye but it has not stopped him from continuing to do the thing he loves the most. 

He said: 'When I found out about my eyes it felt really scary because I thought I would be going blind and not be able to dance anymore. 

'But then I did all the tests I need and it was a case of it not getting a lot worse and also not getting better. It's going to stay like this forever.

'Thanks to the school I was able to get glasses.'

The talented star said he knew he wanted to be a dancer at the age of five but was unsure what he wanted to specialise in. 

'I searched up different dances and found ballet and it looked really cool and I wanted to do it,' he said. 

'Three years later I was able to go to dance school and I remember my mum telling me that she found a ballet school for me.'

Speaking about the viral video that changed his life, Anthony said it feels weird to watch it back as looks 'really young' and 'completely different'. 

Sabina Storrod from Elmhurst Ballet School (right) said that the world is 'Anthony's oyster'

Anthony said he wasn't planning on posting the video that made him noticed 

'We just filmed it but wasn't really planning on posting it and then the next day it was [everywhere],' he said. 

Sabina Storrod from Elmhurst Ballet School said: 'The world is Anthony's oyster. Talent only gets you so far and we are so memorised by his work ethic and resilience.

'I spotted the video during Covid and was blown away. I said to our principal, how can we help this young person's journey?

'We reached out to the family and Anthony's mum said they raised some money and he might be coming to Europe and [asked] if he could visit Elmhurst.'

Sabina added that Anthony is exploring different styles of dance and is currently enjoying contemporary.

The gifted teenager said he misses his favourite dish, jollof rice, and is looking forward to travelling back to Nigeria to catch up with his family soon. 

He is going to be part of a new Disney + documentary film that follows his journey, from leaving his life in Lagos to moving to the UK.