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Scottish ballet dancer Calum Lowden makes the leap to principal dancer at the Royal Swedish Ballet

Scotsman Calum Lowden has just glided into first position as the principal dancer at the Royal Swedish Ballet.

He said he hadn’t thought it was “on the cards” for him as he was “not the most supple person”.

But he told BBC Radio Scotland’s Drivetime: “It is an extremely nice surprise and it was even better that they got a hold of my family on FaceTime so they were on the stage with me and they knew before me actually.”

The big announcement was made on stage at the end of a gala performance, where Mr Lowden admitted it had been dinner rather than dance at the forefront of his mind.

“To be honest, I wasn’t fully listening because I didn’t think it would be me”, he said, “I was actually thinking about my dinner at the time, just wanting to get home.”

His brother actor Jack Lowden shared footage of the event on Twitter adding: “The hard work, pain and talent that takes is mind blowing.

“Forever the inspiration wee brother, forever ma hero.”

Although from the Scottish Borders village of Oxton, it was a trip to Manchester with his parents to see Michael Flatley in Lord of the Dance which lead him into ballet.

A male tap dance routine persuaded the five-year-old and his brother to join a dance school in Edinburgh.

Jack eventually decided to move into acting but Calum kept on dancing training at the Royal Ballet School before joining the Swedish ballet company in 2011.

But it has not been an easy move to make.

On the contrary, brother Jack summed it up in one word in a social media response to news of Calum’s new appointment – “graft”.

While Calum revealed it had been a “gruelling process” with flexibility always his Achilles heel.

But he pointed out: “I feel quite proud that I have managed to get this far without being able to do the splits or almost touch my toes.”

Source: msn.com
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