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Matthew Koon | |
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 Matthew Koon | |
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Matthew Koon | |
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| Matthew Koon | |
| Born | |
Koon began studying ballet at the age of 2, at the Alison Livesey School of Dance and Drama in Whitefield, Greater Manchester. At the age of 9, he auditioned for the Royal Ballet School Junior Associate programme, he was successful and consequently attended weekly classes in Leeds. He also trained at Centre Pointe Dance Studios in Manchester, before taking a full-time place at the English National Ballet School.
Koon made his professional stage debut at the age of 12, playing the title role of Billy Elliot in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical . He auditioned for the role at the Zion Centre, Manchester in February 2005. He made his first appearance in the role on 1 March 2006, and his final performance on 2 December 2006. He was the first boy from a Chinese background to play the role of Billy. [1] [2]
Following auditions in 2009, in 2010 Koon participated in the inaugural series of Got to Dance , a televised dance competition broadcast on Sky One. In articles about the show, he is quoted as saying that if he won the competition, he would use the prize money to continue his dance training at a professional performing arts school. [3] He successfully competed in the second semi-final, ultimately finishing joint 3rd in the grand final on 14 February 2010.
In 2010, Koon won the national final of Dance Master UK, a stage dance competition for boys, promoted by the International Dance Teachers' Association. Having qualified for the competition in a regional heat, Koon competed against other regional finalists at the Opera House Theatre in the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. Koon was then offered a place at the English National Ballet School where he studied for 3 years and graduated in 2013 as one of the top in his class, gaining a contract at Northern Ballet.
Koon performed as a First Soloist with Northern Ballet for 8 years, dancing many lead roles to critical acclaim. [4] In 2022 Koon performed his piece 'Existential', written and directed himself, at The Lowry Theatre as part of their Shoots Scratch Night Programme 2022. [5]
Billy Elliot is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy who has a passion for ballet. His father objects, based on negative stereotypes of male ballet dancers. The film stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, Gary Lewis as his father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older brother, and Julie Walters as his ballet teacher.
Suzanne Christine Crowshaw, known as Suzanne Shaw, is an English actress, singer and television personality, who rose to fame after winning the talent contest Popstars and subsequently being a member of the band Hear'Say.
Billy Elliot: The Musical is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy, a motherless British boy who begins taking ballet lessons. The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment is balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the 1984-1985 miners’ strike in County Durham, in North East England. Hall's screenplay was inspired in part by A. J. Cronin's 1935 novel about a miners' strike, The Stars Look Down, to which the musical's opening song pays homage.
Liam Mower is an English actor and dancer. Best known for his talent for ballet, he was one of the three boys who shared the lead role in the original London cast of Billy Elliot the Musical which earned a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, making him the youngest nominee and the youngest solo winner in the category aged 13. He is currently employed by Matthew Bourne and has appeared in his production of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The Car Men.
James Jacob Lomas is a British actor best known for his role as Billy Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical, which earned a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, making him one of the youngest winners of the awards.
Layton Williams is an English actor, singer, dancer and musical theatre performer known for playing the role of Stephen Carmichael in the television series Bad Education and his work in the West End theatre. His first job was at the age of twelve playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical in London's West End.
Oliver Taylor is an English stage actor and dancer, best known for playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London.
Trent Matthias Kowalik is an American actor, singer, dancer, and music producer. After making his theatrical debut as Billy in 2007 in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical, he went on to co-originate the same role in the 2008 Broadway production. Along with the two other boys playing Billy, he earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, becoming the youngest winner in that category.
Corey Snide is an American actor and dancer best known for his performance as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical based on the hit film Billy Elliot. Snide is a graduate of Colonie Central High School, and of Juilliard.
Adam Cooper is an English dancer. He works as both a performer and choreographer in musical theatre, and has choreographed and/or starred in award-winning shows such as On Your Toes, Singin' in the Rain and Grand Hotel. He began his professional career as a dancer of classical ballet and contemporary ballet and is a former Principal of the Royal Ballet, a major international ballet company based in London. He became internationally recognised for creating the lead role of Swan/Stranger in Matthew Bourne's contemporary dance production of the ballet Swan Lake, a role that was briefly featured in the 2000 film Billy Elliot, in which Cooper played the adult version of the titular character.
Kiril Jacob Kulish is an American actor, singer and dancer who is best known for portraying the title role in the original American production of Billy Elliot the Musical, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, making him one of the youngest winners of the award.
David Alvarez is a Canadian dancer and actor, best known for being one of the original Billys in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical and becoming one of the youngest winners of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. He trained as a dancer with American Ballet Theatre and plays Bernardo in Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story.
Jake Stephen Pratt is an English actor. He entered the public eye when he appeared on the first series of the ITV1 television show Britain's Got Talent in June 2007 where he reached the semi-finals, and lost a place in the grand final. He has since appeared in the British children's television programme, Green Balloon Club, and also worked as a voice-over artist. He starred as Alfie in the BBC comedy film Nativity!, which was released on 27 November 2009.
Fox Jackson-Keen is an English stage and television actor, singer and dancer. He is known for his shared performances in a two and a half-year run as the star role of 'Billy' in Billy Elliot the Musical at London's Victoria Palace Theatre. He has appeared as Mobbsy in the 26 episode live action children's comedy series, My Phone Genie, on ITV and CITV.
Nicholas Alexander Ko is an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He won the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical on Broadway in 2009.
Tommy Batchelor is an American theatre performer from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Cesar Corrales is a Mexican-Canadian ballet dancer and actor. He starred as "Young Billy" in the Chicago and Toronto productions of Billy Elliot the Musical and has been a principal dancer with English National Ballet. He is now a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet.
Jacob Clemente is an American actor and dancer. He is best known for his portrayal of "Billy" in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot: The Musical.
Giuseppe Bausilio is a Swiss actor, dancer, and singer. Bausilio is known for his theater roles, such portrayal of "Billy" in the Broadway, Chicago, and National Tour productions of Billy Elliot the Musical, as well as his performances as "Race" and "Davey" in the Broadway production of Newsies the Musical. He also starred as Alfie in fourth season of the Canadian television series The Next Step, and as Michael Fiorelli in the 2020 film Ode to Passion.
The Manchester Theatre Awards were established in 2011 to replace the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards.The MEN awards, created in 1981 by Alan Hulme, the paper's theatre critic, had long been recognised as the most important theatrical prize-giving outside London and were an important part of the Greater Manchester theatrical calendar. When the Manchester Evening News withdrew its support, the critics already involved, led by Alan Hulme and his MEN successor Kevin Bourke, and with the support of the Greater Manchester theatres, set up a new organisation to carry on the awards. The first winners, for 2011, were announced on 14 March 2012.