Cayden Bean: Project NYC

Hi, I'm Cayden Bean! I'm an 18-year-old classically trained ballet dancer living in George in the Western Cape of South Africa.

I've been dancing since I was 8 years old, and started ballet when I was 10. When I was 16, I received a partial scholarship to travel to New York for a 4-week Summer School programme at the American Academy of Ballet and absolutely loved it. I decided I wanted that to be my future career, and returned to South Africa with a clear purpose, fuelled by passion.

But getting male ballet training here at home is not easy. I was fortunate to find a dedicated and extremely passionate male ballet teacher who created a vocational ballet programme for me. I left high school and took up home schooling to allow me to spend more hours in the studio every day.

I've followed this programme for the past 2 years, doing pilates every morning and most afternoons followed by intense private lessons and then group classes. Today I spend around 6 hours in the studio every day, and do hours of my own stretching in between. To say I love it is an understatement...