A crowdfunding appeal has been launched to help Teignmouth-based dance champion Niko Merelle take his next steps towards professional success.

The 16-year-old won the British Championships prize for House and Commercial Dance last year and has been chosen to represent England at the Dance World Cup next month.

But he needs to raise around £1,200 to cover the costs of taking part, and is inviting donations via GoFundMe https://gofund.me/12e1ec86f

Niko is also seeking sponsorship to continue his training at the ShockOut academy in Manchester, where he’s been offered a place this September.

He said: “I want to work in the commercial industry - music videos and dancing in the background of performances.

“My dream would be working with someone like Beyonce, that would be amazing, out of this world.”

He said attending the dance academy isn’t just about getting a qualification: “It also gets you seen, it’s all about having contacts - a lot of jobs come from agents knowing people at the dance school.”

Niko has been training seriously as a dancer for four years, travelling from Teignmouth to Plymouth after school every day to attend the Groovement Project.

But he has been dancing since the age of six when his mother Jody, who was learning to walk again after a serious car accident, taught him some simple steps so that they could dance together.

He said: “I knew that I wanted to do something like that, I knew that I wanted to perform. I was into gymnastics and acrobatics, and I’d get on my phone or tablet and watch people dance on YouTube.”

Jody said she has been amazed by the ‘extraordinary motivation and determination’ Niko has shown ever since he realised that dancing was what he wanted to do in life.

Anyone interested in sponsoring his dance academy training is asked to contact Niko at [email protected]