From Boy to Ballet Star: 'Billy Elliot' Returns with Its Grown-Up Billy
Creatrip Team
7 months ago
The Korean production of the musical Billy Elliot opens in April with a real-life miracle: Im Seon-woo, who debuted as the boy Billy in Korea’s 2010 premiere, returns as the adult Billy. Now a principal dancer at Universal Ballet and a national-level (국대급) award-winning ballerino, Im will join the young Billys onstage in the climactic “Dream Ballet” (the ballet finale featuring the Swan Lake main theme). Producers call his return a moving proof that stage dreams can come true.
Producers introduced the creative team, Im Seon-woo (27) and the four new child Billys—ages 10–13—who were chosen from about 240 applicants after a rigorous selection and training process that began in September 2024. Selected boys trained six days a week in a “Billy School” (intense after-school training) covering tap, ballet, and acrobatics; they will rehearse for 13 weeks plus stage rehearsals before a roughly 15-week run starting April 12 at Blue Square in Seoul. The cast includes 60 performers ranging from a six-year-old “small boy” to an 84-year-old grandmother role. The young actors spoke about the physical and emotional challenges of the show and how dance brings them joy and resilience. Im Seon-woo said he hopes the boys will remember “I was Billy” as they move on to new paths after the run.
