Daniel Russell--Billy: Oz & US Tour

[Brad]

Good on Daniel. Great to read that another Aussie is knocking them dead. Unfortunatley I never got to see him perform in Australia

[andrewcraig]

Some press coverage I thought Id cut and paste as Daniel has not had much posted
All 5 second tour Billys get featured. Not enough time to do all.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/1 ... -role.html
Daniel Russell

Age: 14

From: Australia

Tell me what it’s like sharing the role with four other people. How does that work?

Daniel: We’re all great friends and we all help each other with the role, so having the chance to share the role is great, especially since we’re living together. It’s great fun because the role is impossible to do on your own. The role is so demanding, and doing it eight shows a week would destroy everything. You couldn’t do it. It would be too hard on our voices, on our bodies. And it’s just so emotionally involved that you need a couple of days to rest after the show.

Do you do anything to de-stress when you’re resting?

Daniel: I like to sleep in the morning after the show.

What’s your favorite scene or number in the show?

Daniel: In Act II, there’s a scene where we get to partner with Older Billy and go up on the high wire. It’s scary at first, but once you get used to it, it’s geat fun.

Who is your favorite Broadway performer?

Daniel: Jeff Horner. He performed the role of Older Billy in the Sydney production and on Broadway. He lives about 20 minutes from where I’m from. He’s moved to L.A.

Is there anything specific you like to do to prepare yourself to perform?

Daniel: I like to look through all my notes I get from the rehearsal so I know I’m ready for the performance.

Who are you most excited to see in the audience?

Daniel: My family. I can’t wait for them to watch my show. They’re in Australia at the moment.

What do you miss most about home?

Daniel: I live on the beach, so right now, at home in Australia, it’s the summertime. I miss going to the beach in the summer.

What’s it like working with such a renowned director as Stephen Daldry?

Daniel: When you first meet people like that, it’s not intimidating, but you kind of censor yourself when you’re working with someone so important. But once you get in rehearsals, you realize they’re down-to-earth people and you just have to take their corrections. He’s a great person. He gave me some really nice compliments, which made my day. We did a scene from the end of the show in Act II, and he said the scene worked really well with me and that I was doing an excellent job with the scene. Boy that made me feel good.

also a second article

http://the330.com/arts-culture/billy/
Australian actor Daniel was one of nine boys cast as Billy for productions in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, from among 3,000 boys who auditioned.

”I was a dancer first and learned to act through the show,” Daniel said.

Both of his parents are dancers, including his Australian mother, who taught him ballet, and his American father, who taught him tap, contemporary and jazz. His father, Robert, is with him on tour.

Daniel had about a one-year break between the Australian Billy Elliot production and the current U.S. tour. He trained in New York for several months to adapt to changes in the show from the Australian production.

As one example, the number Born to Boogie was done with a rolling barre on wheels in Australia. In the United States, it’s a tap dance done with jump ropes.

How is Daniel like Billy?

”I love to dance, and that’s why I do it, to be honest. I keep pushing forward.

”It’s just a big inspiration,” said Daniel, who lives his dance dream every night in the role. ”When you get in the moment, you’re not yourself anymore. And you’re getting egged on by the audience.”

[porschesrule]

Both articles were previously posted in the "U.S. Second National Tour" thread.

[andrewcraig]

Both articles were previously posted in the "U.S. Second National Tour" thread.

I know that but the strange way this forum functions nobody looking for Daniel Russell would think to look there , even if they could find it.

That is why sometimes people post the same post 3 times, to seperate threads to ensure it is read and can be found.

[ERinVA]

Here's a nice article about Daniel from the Express Advocate:

http://express-advocate-gosford.whereil ... y-elliott/

[ERinVA]

Here's a brief publicity piece featuring Daniel.
http://www.papercitymag.com/Blog/Post/2 ... %E2%80%9D/

[dongringo]

Daniel Russel's youtube has a vid of him singing. He also produced a vid starring Lex Ishimoto and a couple other random vids. A talented kid he is.

http://www.youtube.com/user/DNRmt21#p/u

[ERinVA]

Moving it to Daniel's own thread.

To find a thread (Daniel's, for example) you can start by using the SEARCH tab at the top of your screen. That is very useful for finding where to put posts.

[dongringo]

Thanks ERinVA. Being as this is a new forum to me I've been having a bit of a hard time finding stuff.

[ERinVA]

You'll get used to it in no time, dongringo. Just wait and see.