A former race car driver in the United Kingdom has taken a major leap for transgender women on the ballet stage.

Sophie Rebecca, 37, from Leeds, has become the first transgender woman to pass exams at the Royal Ballet Academy — just two years after transitioning to female.

“I was so nervous for my exam, which was examined at my dance school by a Royal Academy of Dance examiner,” she said. “I was convinced I’d failed but to find out I’d passed was the best feeling in the world.”

The ballerina, who is 6-foot-3, said the achievement was one that she never thought would be possible for her.

For years, Sophie yearned to learn to dance, but she said no one would teach her the female technique while living as a man.

The dancer, born as James, instead pursued race car driving and target shooting.

“Before transitioning into a woman there are photos of me rally racing, shooting and looking like a typical bloke,” she said. “But I was far from it, I knew from a young age that I was trapped in the wrong body.”

When she was 35, she began taking hormones and started chasing her dream. The trans ballerina said she now trains four times a week while continuing to work as an IT technician.

“Since starting ballet and taking female hormones my life has changed so much, I finally feel happy in my own skin,” she said.