Kiril Kulish | |
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 Kulish in 2012 | |
| Born | Kiril Jacob Kulish February 16, 1994 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2008–present |
| Website | KirilKulish.com |
Kiril Jacob Kulish (born February 16, 1994) is an American actor, singer and dancer who is best known for portraying the title role in the original American production of Billy Elliot the Musical , which earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, making him one of the youngest winners of the award.
Kulish was born in San Diego, California, on February 16, 1994. His parents, Raisa Kulish and Phil Axelrod, are Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. [1] His older brother, Victor, is a singer/songwriter and recording engineer, and his older sister Beata is a TV/film producer. [2] [3] He grew up speaking Russian, Ukrainian, and English. [4] He started studying ballet at age five and ballroom dancing at age 8. He studied at the San Diego Academy of Ballet, and was the youngest male to be admitted to their junior company. [5] Kiril was the winner of the Junior division Grand Prix at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2006, 2007, and 2008 [6] and won the Hope Award in the Pre-Competitive division in 2006. [7] Kiril Kulish won first place in Latin Ballroom at the USA National Dance Championships in 2006 and 2007. [8] In 2012 and 2013 Kiril Kulish became the Youth USA Champion in Latin Dance Sport and will represent USA in Beijing and Paris.
At a press launch in New York on April 22, 2008, it was announced that Kulish would be one of three boys to play the title role in the original Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical , along with David Álvarez and Trent Kowalik. Kulish performed in the musical's first preview performance on October 1, 2008. [9] On June 7, 2009, Kulish, along with Trent Kowalik and David Álvarez, won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest winners of the award. [10] In all, Billy Elliot was nominated for 15 [11] Tony Awards, and won 10, [12] including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical. Kulish's last performance in Billy Elliot was on Saturday October 3, 2009. [13]
Film: Sonata (Pre-Production) Landon Goldberg
Crossing Young Andrei
Damaged Brad
Choreographer
Chasing Mem’ries Musical at the Geffen Playhouse starring Tyne Daly and Robert Forster
Television:
Dancing with the Stars Pro
HBO Anthology Series Secret Service Style Agent-Co Star
The 63rd Annual Tony Awards Himself
Good Morning America Himself
NBC Sports Special Himself
ABC The View Billy Elliot
ABC Live with Regis and Kelly Himself
ABC Live with Regis and Michael Himself
CBS Morning Show Himself
ABC Daytime Salutes BC/EFA Himself (Full List Available upon request)
Theater/Performance: “Baz — A Musical Tour de Force” Las Vegas (Baz Lehrman show)
In late 2009, Kulish performed the lead role in the ballet The Nutcracker. [14] In 2010, he attended the ballroom championship at USA Dance Southwest Regional Championship in Long Beach, CA. On October 27, 2012, Kiril performed alongside Jon Secada, Debbie Gravitte, Liz Callaway, and a host of award-winning singers from around the world in Loving the Silent Tears: A New Musical at the Shrine Theater in Los Angeles. [15] In 2016, Kulish joined season 22 of Dancing with the Stars as a professional dancer in their troupe. Kulish currently resides in San Diego, Los Angeles, and New York.
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2008- 3 October 2009 | Billy Elliot: The Musical | Billy | Imperial Theatre | Broadway debut |
| 2009 holiday season | The Nutcracker | Occidental Grand Aruba | Palm Beach | |
| 27 October 2012 | Loving the Silent Tears | Shrine Auditorium | Los Angeles, California | |
| Awards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Award | Category | Role | Show | Result | Ref. |
| 2009 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Billy Elliot | Billy Elliot the Musical | Won | [12] |
Billy Elliot is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy who discovers a passion for ballet. His father objects, based on negative stereotypes of male ballet dancers. The film stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, Gary Lewis as his father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older brother, and Julie Walters as his ballet teacher.
Faith Prince is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on Broadway in musical theatre. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in Guys and Dolls in 1992, and received three other Tony nominations.
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspapers, digital and national publications, and other media beyond Broadway. The awards were first presented during the 1949–50 theater season, celebrating their 70th anniversary in 2020. David Gordon, Editor-in-Chief at TheaterMania.com, currently serves as president.
Billy Elliot: The Musical is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy, a motherless British boy who begins taking ballet lessons. The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment are balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the 1984–85 UK miners' strike in County Durham, in North East England. Hall's screenplay was inspired in part by A. J. Cronin's 1935 novel about a miners' strike, The Stars Look Down, to which the musical's opening song pays homage.
Liam Mower is an English actor and dancer. Best known for his talent for ballet, he was one of the three boys who shared the lead role in the original London cast of Billy Elliot the Musical which earned a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, making him the youngest nominee and the youngest solo winner in the category aged 13. He is currently employed by Matthew Bourne and has appeared in his production of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The Car Men.
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956.
Matthew Koon is a British actor and dancer.
Oliver Taylor is an English stage actor and dancer, best known for playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London.
Trent Matthias Kowalik is an American actor, singer and dancer. After making his theatrical debut as Billy in 2007 in the West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical, he went on to co-originate the same role in the 2008 Broadway production. Along with the two other boys playing Billy, he earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, becoming the youngest winner in that category.
Maria Olegovna Kochetkova is a Russian ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet between 2007 and 2018, and with the American Ballet Theatre between 2015 and 2017. After that, she became a freelance dancer for several years, before joining the Finnish National Ballet in the 2020/21 season.
David Alvarez is a Canadian dancer and actor, best known for being one of the original Billys in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical and becoming one of the youngest winners of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. He trained as a dancer with American Ballet Theatre and plays Bernardo in Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story.
Hildur Isabella Boylston is an American ballet dancer who is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT).
Cesar Corrales is a Mexican-Canadian ballet dancer and actor. He starred as "Young Billy" in the Chicago and Toronto productions of Billy Elliot the Musical and has been a principal dancer with English National Ballet. He is now a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet.
Jacob Clemente is an American actor and dancer. He is best known for his portrayal of "Billy" in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot: The Musical.
Eglė Špokaitė is a Lithuanian ballet dancer, most notably a Principal Ballerina for the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (1989–2011) and the only ballet dancer on the List of Famous Lithuanians. She co-founded the Egle Špokaitė Ballet School in Vilnius, Lithuania (2008), where she also served as artistic director. In the United States, she founded the Ballet Institute of San Diego dance school (2016). Špokaitė is also a choreographer, actress, and public speaker. She's the winner of the Lithuanian National Prize, as well as numerous other awards and honors. She lives and works between San Diego, CA and Vilnius.
Jeffrey Cirio is an American ballet dancer. He joined the Boston Ballet in 2009, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2012. In 2015, he moved to the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist, and was promoted to principal dancer the following year. In 2018, he joined the English National Ballet as a principal dancer. He will return to Boston Ballet in the 2022/23 season.
Giuseppe Bausilio is a Swiss actor, dancer, and singer. Bausilio is known for his theater roles, such portrayal of "Billy" in the Broadway, Chicago, and National Tour productions of Billy Elliot the Musical, as well as his performances as "Race" and "Davey" in the Broadway production of Newsies the Musical. He also starred as Alfie in fourth season of the Canadian television series The Next Step, and as Michael Fiorelli in the 2020 film Ode to Passion.
Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) is a non-profit international youth ballet and contemporary dance competition and scholarship program established in 1999.
Daniel Camargo is a Brazilian ballet dancer. He joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 2009, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2013. In 2016, he left to join the Dutch National Ballet, before leaving in 2019 to pursue a freelance career. In 2022, he joined the American Ballet Theatre.
Sophia Lucia is an American dancer. Described as a "phenom" by multiple media publications, she holds the Guinness World Record for most consecutive pirouettes. She is also known for her appearance on the reality television show Dance Moms.
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