Local dancer James Waddell is making a name for himself on the world stage as a dancer with a prestigious Belgian ballet company.Mr Waddell, 22, who has performed in many Bermuda Civic Ballet productions including last year’s Romeo and Juliet, is now working with the Royal Ballet of Flanders based in Antwerp, Belgium.“I am really happy to become involved in the Royal Ballet of Flanders, because the company itself had international fame for a long time,” Mr Waddell told The Royal Gazette. “For the last seven years they have been touring to every major city you can think of Berlin, New York, Paris, Milan, Beijing and so on. They are hugely well travelled and have a fantastic reputation.”He is part of the Corps de Ballet with the company which means he performs in group sections of whatever is choreographed.“If a choreographer, or one of the staff at the company, decide I would suit a particular role I might be asked to do solo roles or duets,” he said. “I do whatever is needed. I have not had any solos yet. I was in a quartet, a four person piece created with me and a few others which was a really fantastic experience.“I got to work with a fairly famous choreographer in New York called Ashley Page. That was an exciting experience in itself. I also had a duet part in a bigger piece, which was Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land.”He works a full day with the Royal Ballet of Flanders, six days a week. He is loving Antwerp which is an interesting city with lots of culture and fine arts.“I started doing ballet when I was about three years old,” he said. “I quit after a year because I was bullied for it at school. When I was six, someone who is still a very good friend of mine, Lorien Slaughter came to Bermuda to perform. There were a bunch of other male international dancers.“They were all very talented guys. They had fantastic charisma. They were great to talk to. They were big strong guys who could do fantastic tricks. I thought that was really cool and I wanted to do that. I told my mother I wanted to start taking classes again and since then it has been a steady progression towards a professional career.”Mr Waddell said at first, he didn’t handle the bullying very well, but after a while he learned to ignore it, and it stopped.“When I was 17 I left the Island and spent three years in London training at the Central School of Ballet,” he said. “They have a degree certified by the University of Kent. I have my Bachelor of Arts Honours. I spent a year in Spain and now I am in Belgium.”Until he went away to school, his teacher was his own mother, Coral Waddell who runs the Bermuda School of Russian Ballet.“When I am back in Bermuda I am involved with my mother’s summer programme and I work with some of the younger students. Every time I come home I do bits and pieces with the school. I show the kids there is a profession if you want it, but you have to fight for it.”His goal for the next few years is to advance through the Royal Ballet of Flanders.“I am told that I have potential, but I know that doesn’t necessarily translate into how you are doing. I am hoping to move forward in the company. To be promoted you have to have significance stage presence. Stage presence is about the quality with which you dance. It is about the way you hold your body and your posture when you are not moving and the cleanliness of your technique, among other things.”When he is not working, he enjoys cooking and photography. A friend recently introduced him to the production side of music and he has become very interested in that.“I have lots of interests and tend to pop in and out of things,” he said.This year he will not be performing in the Bermuda Civic Ballet Summer Selection in early August, but he will be choreographing a 17 minute piece for two dancers.“To young people who are interested in ballet I say, ‘if you love it, go for it’,” he said. “Don’t let people tell you you can’t do it, or second guess you. If you really love it then go for it. If you really love it, and want to do it, it is very rare you won’t be able to achieve it. You have to be willing to put in the work.”