Gone too soon. Child actor and ballet dancer Jack Burns has died at the age of 14. Elite Academy of Dance confirmed the sad news in a statement.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we write this post. Tragically as you know we lost our much loved student Jack Burns on Sunday 1st of December,” the statement shared on Facebook reads. “Jack was an inspiration to everyone at Elite and touched the hearts of everyone who had the pleasure of working and dancing with him since 2012. We and all of Jacks family and friends are naturally completely devastated and at a loss for words and answers.”
The Burns’ family is hosting a funeral service at St Mary’s Church, Patrick Street, Greenock, Scotland, on Thursday, December 12.
“Karen, Robert and Rory would love if those from his Elite Family that knew and loved Jack as much as they all do wanted to attend. They would also take much comfort if students wish to attend in Alba or Elite Hoodies and sit together on Thursday,” the statement explains. “Our studio will be open at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday for those wishing to attend.”
The statement concludes: “All our thoughts and prayers at this time are with Jacks immediate family and friends but especially with his parents Karen, Robert and his brother Rory xx The Elite family- stronger together x.”
Jack appeared on ITV’s In Plain Sight, Netflix miniseries One of Us (originally titled Retribution) and started studying ballet at the age of 9. According to the DailyMail, he was found dead at home in his Scotland home in Greenock, Inverclyde, on December 1. (His brother, Rory, appeared on Starz’s Outlander.)
“This is a tragedy for the family which is inexplicable. Everyone will be at the funeral tomorrow to support Karen, Robert and his brother Rory,” Father Thomas Boyle of St Mary’s Church in Greenock told the outlet on Wednesday, December 11. “Everything he participated in so well in his life will be there, from the ballet school, his rugby club and the people he played football with. Everyone’s absolutely devastated by what’s happened.”
Jack’s cause of death has yet to be revealed.
