A poor Nigerian boy whose unlikely trip to the British Academy of Dance will be chronicled by Disney met Queen Consort Camilla, who is training to become a pro, on Tuesday.
Anthony Madu, 13, is studying at the Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham, central England, two years after moving from the sprawling city of Lagos.
Queen Consort Camilla visited Elmhurst as part of the school’s centenary and wished her “good luck” after asking her about her interest in dance.
Later, Buckingham Palace shared photos of Camilla with Madu.
Palace: “A lovely day in the West Midlands! The Queen’s Consort joined staff and students at @elmhurstballetschool to celebrate the school’s centenary.
“Among the students was Nigerian ballet dancer Anthony Mmesoma Madu, who received a scholarship to the school in 2020 after a video of him dancing barefoot in the rain went viral.”
He later visited volunteers at Southwater One Library to thank them for their generous support of the local community.
Appropriate AFPlast September, Disney announced a documentary about Madu’s remarkable journey from the Leap of Dance Academy in Lagos to the UK.
Newspapers dubbed him the “Nigerian Billy Elliot” after an award-winning 2000 film about the son of a coal miner in the north of England taking a place in the Royal Ballet.
