'Ballet has taken me from Moss Side to Manhattan'

Nahum McLean is a professional ballet dancer whose career has taken him all over the world, but now, aged 30, he is coming home to perform in Manchester.

He trained at The Hammond School, in Chester and went on to take part in international tours, including years spent living in Cuba and New York.

Ahead of a show at the city's Opera House this month, McLean told BBC Manchester about his experience as a black male ballet dancer from Moss Side plunged into the "elitist" world of professional ballet.

"Ballet is not really something people do in Moss Side," McLean said.

"I remember enjoying it but wanting to reject it. And telling people at school was not an option."

McLean grew up dancing with his sisters at home and taking hip-hop lessons - before his dance teachers suggested he should start ballet, when he was 10.

"I went to primary school in the heart of Moss Side and I kept ballet a secret for quite a while," he said.

"I didn't tell anybody at all.

"Everyone knew that I did hip-hop dance but when I started ballet I kept it very quiet - very to myself."

McLean said he was able to keep his secret for about a year - before his dance school featured on a local TV news segment, and a teacher at his school told his peers.

"I was never gonna tell anybody - ever," he said. "It was never an option.

"But I remember that moment when a teacher announced to everyone that they had seen me doing ballet on the news.

"Everyone was erupted in laughter.

"It was awful.

"I remember just sinking to the floor to be honest - and I remember not wanting to go outside."

McLean said the revelation was eventually forgotten about by his peers - until he was scouted for a vocational ballet school the next year.

"I got into the performing arts school and my mum was then telling everybody -because she was just so proud," he said.

McLean said he suffered rejection and loss of friendships over his decision to pursue ballet.

McLean said: "At primary school I was in an Amir Khan music video and I'd teach the other kids at school hip-hop moves.

"But with ballet I would have never have dared to share that I was doing it.

"I knew exactly what it was gonna be when people found out.

"Even for myself I remember understanding the stigma - enjoying ballet - but also wanting to reject it because of the stigma.

"There's all these questions about your sexuality because you're a man who's does ballet.

"I just thought, 'Why? I'm just dancing'."

McLean said he had been isolated and antagonised and even followed by former friends.

But in adult life, the same people had come up to him and praised his career.

"When something like that happens I have thought, 'this is crazy because I almost quit because of you'," he said.

McLean's world changed when he moved to boarding school in Chester aged 11.

But despite joining a cohort of new classmates all pursuing a vocational education in the arts - he said he did not immediately feel represented within this new environment.

"Ballet is very elitist, and not a lot of people from low economic backgrounds can afford to do it - or can afford to do it to the level that is needed to get into a vocational school," he said.

"I was the only black kid in my year. And it was quite surreal because a lot of these kids came from more privileged backgrounds.

"I remember one pupil a couple of years older than me told me I was on the ghetto scholarship.

"It was crazy, but I thought if that is true, I'll take it."

Looking back on his experience getting into dance, McLean said he hoped the world had changed since then.

"There's quite a lot of initiatives at the moment," he said. "There's quite a lot of initiatives for getting people from poorer backgrounds or people of colour into ballet and they are helping.

"But I think definitely we need to see more funding for the arts and more opportunity in state schools."

McLean said Ballet Nights, his upcoming show at the Manchester Opera House on 11 March, should appeal to people who do not normally go to the ballet.

"Sometimes ballet can feel a little bit taboo," he said.

"It can feel like you have to be middle to upper class to understand it - but Ballet Nights has made it extremely accessible for everyone."

This show is a special one as it is McLean's first professional performance on a stage in Manchester.

"So it is kind of my debut or my homecoming, should I say," he said.

"I am kind of nervous.

"But as always, for every performance, you have a bit of nerves - but being in my home turf means quite a lot, so I'm excited too."

McLean said he would advise any young male ballet dancers who feel out of place to "stick it out".

"It's not for the weak but you are not weak because you've already started," he said.

"And just remember that what matters to you is what matters the most.

"And if you enjoy yourself dancing, if you enjoy yourself moving and creating and being artistic, then that's what you need to do - and silence out the noise."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.