James Waddell has been giving it his all blood, sweat and tears to fulfil his dream of becoming a professional dancer.

The 19-year-old student at the Central School of Ballet in London started training in the Pembroke Sunday School when he was only three.

"My mother, Coral Waddell, has been teaching dance since she was 14 and so I got started right here," he said.

"By the time I was six, I knew this was what I wanted to do. There was a US dance group that came down here and I was amazed at some of the tricks they performed.

"At that point I was doing an hour or two every week."

When he told his mother that he wanted to become a dancer, she encouraged him, warning him that to succeed he would have to commit a great deal of time and make a number of sacrifices.

"At the time, that didn't seem like much, but I was just a kid. I only really understood what she meant as I got older.

"By the time I was 16, I was training 14 hours a week.

"Now, at my school, I do about 50 hours a week. I get up at 6.30 [each morning] and I start warm-ups at 7.15.

"It's exhausting, but there's nothing I would rather be doing. I have never had an easier time getting out of bed.

"There are a few classes that are sit-down, like art history, but most of my classes are performance-based.

"There's a lot of blood sweat and tears. You get to know your physical therapist very well."

He said a few years ago he injured his ankle during a performance.

"I took a jump, and when I landed my ankle rolled underneath me," he said. "This is five seconds into a three-minute performance."

Not only did Mr. Waddell finish the routine, but he held off getting treatment for his injury because he was scheduled to dance again the next day.

"I went to the back and put my foot up. Put a little ice on it," he said.

"When you have an audience full of people who have tickets, who are here to see you, you have to make sure they get what they paid for. You have to put out or they won't come back.

"It's something you have to get used to."

He said the thrill of performing in front of an audience helped push him forward, and keeps him coming back to the stage despite whatever pain he's going through.

"The thrill of having 2,000 people cheering you on is greater than any drug I've heard of," he said.

"I love that if you put on a great performance, people will remember you. I still remember every single performance that I've seen."

He said that dancing in front of thousands of people doesn't frighten him, but he admitted that he sometimes does get nervous when he's performing in front of small crowds.

"The biggest show I did was in Cuba for 2,500 people, but the audience was great," he said. "They were clapping in the middle.

"It's when I'm in front of 20 people that I get nervous. I usually know them, and it's usually in a small space so I can see them, and I can see how they're reacting. You think too much, and that's what gets me."

While his love is for dance, as part of his training Mr. Waddell is also working on his ability to act and sing.

While he said he feels comfortable acting, the singing has caused him stress.

"It's all about confidence," he said. "If you're confident, you'll do fine, but the second you lose that confidence your voice goes."

Despite his nervousness, he has already sung on stage locally as part of the cast of 'Dreamgirls'.

Now that he's entering his last year of school, he admits that he's worried about his future prospects.

"The next step is the big step," he said. "In the UK, dance is the hardest career to get a job in. There are some 200 dancers for every spot, so the odds are stacked against me a bit, but there are opportunities."

He said he is hoping to find a position in a touring company so that he can travel and perform throughout Europe, but he's also considering his options on the Island.

"I've been working a bit with RockFire Bermuda and doing the fire spinning thing, which is great fun," he said. " [RockFire founder Adrian Kawaley-Lathan] and I have been talking a lot about merging dance and fire spinning.

"It takes a lot of cross-training though."

Mr. Waddell said everyone should try dancing and other performing arts at least once.

"I honestly believe that everyone has a performing art that they were meant to do," he said. "I think everyone should try dance, but it's not for everyone."