A YOUNG Woking boy has taken a huge leap towards a career as a professional dancer after appearing in a show in the West End of London.

Stanley Williams, nine, played The Boy in The Snowman at the 1,000-seat Peacock Theatre, which is linked to Sadler’s Wells.

The show, which ran for six weeks, is a dance version of the Raymond Briggs picture book story, popularised by the 1982 animated film featuring the song Walking in the Air.

Stanley said he particularly enjoyed the flying sequence that accompanies the song, which 14-year-old Aled Jones covered in 1985 and reached No5 in the singles chart.

Stanley has been dancing since he was two and is taught by his mum Rebecca at her dance academy in Pyrford.

Rebecca trained at the Royal Ballet School and toured the world with leading companies in ballets and musicals before setting up her academy, which includes Ballet Tots for three and four-year-olds.

Stanley’s dad, Simon, also trained at the Royal Ballet School and was a professional dancer who now teaches.

The couple took their son to see The Snowman when he was two-and-a-half because one of their friends was in the show and took Stanley backstage to meet the rest of the cast.

That memory has stayed with him and last year Rebecca saw that there were auditions for The Snowman and asked Stanley if he wanted to try for the part.

He was told he had been successful a few days after the audition.

“I was very excited,” Stanley said. “I was buzzing and wanted to start rehearsals.”

After three weeks of rehearsals, including the flying sequence in which Stanley and the snowman were suspended from the stage roof, the run started.

“First time I did it, it was amazing,” he said. “I thought ‘wow, I’ve got to perform in front of all of these people’. It was quite an astonishing feeling.”

Stanley plays rugby at Send C of E Primary school. He used to play mini rugby at Chobham RFC, but wasn’t allowed to play during the run of the show in case of injury.

He is now looking forward to starting contact rugby, which is introduced at age nine, riding his bike and doing art.

But dance is in Stanley’s blood with brother Charlie, six, and sister Elsie, three, following his example.

“They are both also really talented,” Rebecca said. “They loved going up to London to watch their brother.

“It’s been lovely seeing their faces when they see him up on stage, especially when he was flying,” Simon said.

Appearing in The Snowman has resulted in Stanley being signed up by an agent and having an entry in the professional performers’ casting website Spotlight.

“I enjoy the music and the rhythm of dancing,” he said.“I enjoy the movement of it; the freedom of it.

“Because I felt what it was like doing The Snowman, I want to carry on performing and build up.”