Musical 'Billy Elliot' Lead Role Audition Scene

In the rehearsal room of Shinseki Company in Seocho-gu, Seoul, 7 boys showcased elegant ballet movements to the melody of Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake'. The youthful-faced boys, dressed in white tops and black leggings, gracefully extended one arm while gazing forward, repeatedly bending their legs and pointing their toes. Their serious expressions revealed a burning passion for the stage.

The boys, who met in the rehearsal room on the 31st of last month, are child actors selected as final candidates for the role of Billy in the musical 'Billy Elliot'. During the final audition, the candidates for the role of Billy showcased their talents and 'spirit' in front of their parents and the creative team.

'Billy Elliot' is a story set against the backdrop of the British miners' strike in the 1980s, depicting the growth of a poor mining village boy, Billy, as he finds his dream through ballet. Based on the film of the same name released in 2000, it premiered in the UK in 2005 and made its domestic debut in 2010.

This work is famous for its unique audition process, where child actors are directly taught dance while selecting the lead role. Jeon Min-cheol, who is currently active as a ballet star, also auditioned for the role of Billy during the 2017 performance.

The production company, Shinseki Company, has been conducting the selection process for male child actors to play the lead role of Billy and his best friend Michael through a total of three auditions since September last year. The selected child actors have participated in a specialized training program called 'Billy School', where they have systematically built their stamina and skills for the stage by focusing on ballet, tap dance, and vocals for 4 to 5 hours a day.

The final candidates for the role of Billy, selected through this process, along with 6 final candidates for the role of Michael, showcased their comprehensive ballet, tap dance, and singing skills on this day.

The actors, aged 8 to 12, sang the musical number 'Electricity' with clear and refreshing voices. As the tap dance music played, the actors stomped their feet in rhythm, delivering a passionate performance, and soon beads of sweat formed on their foreheads.

While the child actors showed a serious demeanor when the singing and dancing began, they returned to their innocent selves once the prepared stage was over. They couldn't hide their smiles, bursting into laughter at just the sight of each other's faces, exchanging words of encouragement like "You did well."

On this day, the directing team and production staff also took their places on one side of the rehearsal room to closely observe the characteristics and potential of the child actors. The creative team emphasized that the actors appearing in 'Billy Elliot' must possess excellent stamina and a passion for the stage.

Ed Burnside, the overseas collaboration director, explained, "The original director of the work, Stephen Daldry, compared playing the role of Billy to running a marathon while performing the play 'Hamlet'. The roles that children take on in this work are differentiated from any other performance."

He continued, "The most critical part of the audition process is understanding the individuality of the children," adding, "Since we give various variations to the performance by utilizing each child's unique characteristics, we avoid setting a specific framework and acting accordingly."

Tom Hodgson, the overseas collaboration choreographer, stated, "The key is whether they can express emotions while moving their bodies, even if they have no experience dancing," emphasizing that the focus is on discovering children with emotional sparks rather than technical perfection.

While the process is challenging for the creative team guiding the children in 'Billy School', they mentioned that it allows them to feel a special sense of fulfillment that cannot be experienced in other works.

Lee Jeong-gwon, the domestic collaboration choreographer, humorously remarked, "When the children don't listen, my anger gauge rises to the point where I need to visit a nearby temple," but added with a smile, "Seeing the children give their best on stage until the end makes me feel that all the effort is rewarded."

Shinseki Company plans to officially announce the final successful candidates for the roles of Billy and Michael in the future. The actors selected in the auditions will perform at the Blue Square Shinhan Card Hall from April to July next year, meeting with the audience.