Not one, not two, but 30 young ballet dancers are joining the West End cast of Billy Elliot—that’s a lot of pointe shoes! The group of young dancers between the ages of 10 and 16 will alternate as Mrs. Wilkinson’s adorable pirouetting dance students in the hit production at London’s Victoria Palace Theatre.
“We are all looking forward to welcoming our new Ballet Girls to the Victoria Palace Theatre,” Anna-Jane Casey, who plays Mrs. Wilkinson, said in a statement. “I am particularly looking forward to keeping them on their toes at each performance as they join Billy on stage in Mrs. Wilkinson’s unique and especially energetic ballet lessons—I know they will give us ‘the old razzle-dazzle’ in their fabulous pink tutus!”
Beginning September 24, the ballet students will be played by Niamh Ashley, Niamh Bennett, Macy Dyason, Morgan Hartley, Lauren Henson, Lydia Kalian, Darcey Littlefield, Natasha Pye, Caitlin Rosendale and Sophie Smart; Samantha Allison, Holly-Marie Davenport, Holly Duke, Ella Forman, Summer Jones, Eliza Love, Kiara-Jaide Mandoza, Emily Miles, Georgia Prentice and Lily Sitzia; and Chorlene Biron-Monnier, Samantha Delaney, Sophie Green, Esa Halil, Taila Halil, Allanah Martin Judge, Ellie Munden, Ellis O'Neill, Charlotte Ross-Gower and Brooke Wolpert.
Based on the Oscar-nominated film of the same name, Billy Elliot tells the inspirational story of one boy’s dream to realize his ambitions against the odds. Set against the background of the historic mid-1980s miners’ strike, Billy pursues his passion for dance secretly in order to avoid the disapproval of his struggling family.
In addition to Casey, Billy Elliot stars Harrison Dowzell, Elliott Hanna, Redmand Rance and Ali Rasul alternating in the role of Billy, Deka Walmsley as Dad, Kevin Wathen as Tony, Ann Emery as Grandma and Howard Crossley as George.