Billy Elliot the Forum

The Company posted this picture of the producer and another billy called Maximo Erm.
http://instagram.com/p/uv_0CNCfgQ/

Assuming this is the same guy, they have a very accomplished dancer (same name listed in credits)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... KiikI#t=41

Borrobil wrote:Assuming this is the same guy, they have a very accomplished dancer (same name listed in credits)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... KiikI#t=41

A very assured performance!

Rather reminiscent of Drew Minard's video with Oh Land. Clearly, Maximo will be an 'older' Billy than the London norm.........and why not? Why cannot the story be seen from the eyes of a 14 or 15 year old, as opposed to an eleven year old?

Future regionals will simply have to have older Billys. Even Ogunquit was a huge success, with a 15 and an 16 year old in the role. (And the older age made it 'edgier'.) The regional outlier may be Manitoba, which is training a new cohort of younger Billys. No one else is, as far as I can ascertain.

Not forgetting the original Billy, James Lomas was 15years old, although it does limit their time in the role. If the availability of age-appropriate Billys with the right skill set is low, possibly due to the social norms of the country in encouraging dance, then we know it works fine. Incidentally, Estonia's outlook on anything that matters is very much Western European, dispite (or possibly because of) its border with Russia.

I wonder whether one reason all recent London Billys seem to end their careers by the end of Yr 9, is due to the looming GCSE demands that begin soon after?

(Year 9 is Grade 8 in the US.)

I am looking forward to reviews (and perhaps a few video clips) from the Estonian production.

Borrobil wrote:Assuming this is the same guy, they have a very accomplished dancer (same name listed in credits)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... KiikI#t=41

Beside showing off Maximo's dancing skills, this is an excellent anti-bullying video. Just listen to the lyrics. Both the boy ballet dancer and the girl basketball player have to overcome being bullied by their peers, along with the blows to their self esteem.

For us BETM fans, the reaction from his teacher at the end makes a nice contrast to Dad's reaction at the end of Dream Ballet.

Maximo will actually play the role of Michael, not Billy, alternating with Jaagup in the role.