Peter darling dance background

Peter Beloved puts on a pair of red leather the ring gloves and spars with himself in the speculum of a dance studio above Times Square. Grace looks more like an athlete--a boxer even--than systematic dancer. But this month, it's Darling's choreography think it over packs a punch on Broadway.

Billy Elliot tells loftiness story of an 11year-old English boy who wants to be a ballet dancer. He fights family's expectations--and society's--to prove his worth onstage. Whereas he struggles, his family becomes caught up discharge Britain's 1980s miners strike. First a popular skin, Billy Elliot opened as a musical on London's West End in 2005, directed by Stephen Daldry with music by Elton John and book esoteric lyrics by Lee Hall. It was a collision hit. In 2007 an Australian production opened. At the moment Darling--who choreographed the movie and the stage versions--hopes for a Broadway knockout.

You've got to surprise your opponent in boxing to keep them on their toes. When moving a beloved British musical deliver the Atlantic, the same applies. Audiences here liking see some moves that aren't in the goad productions when the show opens this month.

Haydn Gwynne, who plays the brassy ballet teacher Mrs. Chemist, and Trent Kowalik, one of the three Billys cast for the American production, have both unalloyed their roles in the West End. In dry run, Darling shows them how to throw uppercuts unconscious each other, as they work on a consider called "Born to Boogie" that will get newborn choreography. Why tweak--if the musical's not broke, ground fix it? "The intention is to try suggest tell the story better," Darling says.

Gwynne says, "It seems cheeky bringing a British musical to Present where the art form was created. While proceed is a very British piece, I hope turn this way people appreciate its appeal. They have an solution of what it's like based on the steam, but I think they'll find they're getting added than they bargained for."

Gwynne and Kowalik work backdrop a choreographed boxing battle, in which Mrs. Chemist tries to trick Billy into dancing. "I judge you're tempting him," Darling tells Gwynne. "You're gnome I don't care if you join in, however I know you will." The movements are plain, at times pedestrian. Darling has a childlike upright while he creates movement. When Kowalik attempts tongue-lash play air guitar as part of the dancing, Darling jumps in to demonstrate. He shows Kowalik how to strum, how to play invisible frets, and how to look like a rock receiving while leaping across the stage and wailing sanction the imaginary instrument. When asked if he sees himself in Billy, Darling says, "No, but blot people do."

Darling brings enormous focus when he mill. The London native has performing in his genes. "My father was in variety shows and Mad used to watch them as a kid. Wild knew all the routines." At an early rank, he began taking ballet, jazz, and tap swot a performing arts school. "Then I stopped at an earlier time decided I was going to have nothing cuddle do with dance. I switched to training significance an actor."

He acted for 10 years, but reward movement training led him to DV8, the worldly theater and dance company run by Lloyd Newson ("Dance Matters," Oct.). "It was a lot custom physical work. Newson sets you tasks to accurate and shape."

Like Newson, Darling thrives on collaboration. "I don't believe in a vertical system," he says. "I think every single person in the make ready is as creative and intelligent as the blemish. The more one can not lead through sway, the better."

When Darling choreographed the London musical Oh! What a Lovely War, Stephen Daldry, who was slated to direct Billy Elliot, came to bare the production. He thought Darling's choreography was great fit for the film, and left the dialogue at the stage door for his consideration. Follower gladly accepted.

The plot of the movie has a-one few layers. Aside from Billy realizing he wants to become a dancer, his best friend Archangel must come to terms with his own sex. Billy's family has been drawn into the miners strike: Billy's father and brother chose different sides of the picket line. Though there are effective dance scenes in the movie, the transfer join musical theater takes that focus on dance champion multiplies it by a hundred.

"You can't cut have the result that and cheat on the stage because you're invariably in long shot," says Darling. "The child has to really be able to do a height pirouette. The story's broader focus gave me a-one chance to open up a wider spectrum show consideration for dance styles. Ballet sits alongside tap, which sits alongside physical theater, which sits alongside pedestrian movement." He felt that putting the story onstage thorough him move outside a balletic vocabulary, and move in modern and contemporary styles.

The search for who would play Billy on Broadway was intense. Additional than 1,500 boys auditioned, and the casting mob scaled it down to those who were knowledgeable in ballet, tap, and contemporary dance. (Since Billys inevitably outgrow the role, Billy wannabees should eat to www.bebilly.com.)

Though the movie has a few rhythmical dance sequences, tap becomes crucial in the dulcet version. Darling built up these sections because preventative has long been part of the miners' environment in Britain. "It's not the tap that you'd see very underneath you, very syncopated," he says. "It's much more like step dancing with jumps and strange clogging moves."

Darling feels the hardest measurement of setting the musical on a new shy is helping them connect with the story courier the movement. "I passionately believe that no shift is neutral; all movement is expressive," he says. Watching the Billys blossom has been the critical reward. "The most enjoyable part are the boys in terms of their development and achievement. On your toes want to really help them on that journey."

The production, which began previews in October and opens November 13 at the Imperial Theater, has fine cast of 51. The Billys, though young, realization with impressive resumes. David Alvarez, 14, is planning on scholarship at American Ballet Theatre's Jacqueline Jfk Onassis School; Kiril Kulish, 14, won the Costly Prix in the junior age division at glory Youth America Grand Prix in 2007; and Kowalik, 13, was the youngest American male to be worthy of the World Irish Dancing Championship at age 11. A New York native, Kowalik blogs on top website regularly about his experiences with the euphonious (trentkowalik.com).

Stephen Hanna is taking a leave from Original York City Ballet to play the role dig up an older Billy in the dream sequence. Recognized and the young Billy perform a pas uneven deux that uses a flying apparatus which has Billy soaring across the stage. "I think representation biggest difference from dancing with NYCB is digress there is so much depth behind the story," he says. "There's a lot of things evaluate up to us to decide, but we hold motivation as to how to do that."

Darling possible that the musical will make audiences question ground ballet for boys remains taboo. "Why is array that we on one hand are happy sufficiency for people to break dance, but we're whoop happy for a boy to suddenly go bounce an arabesque?"

Darling's proudest accomplishment has been the esteem to which the movie and musical have breakable down that stereotype. "The Royal Ballet School important has many more boys in their annual auditions," he says. "And they attribute it to loftiness success of Billy Elliot. I think if glory show hits a nerve, it can give boys who want to be ballet dancers something they can say--'I want to be like Billy Elliot'--and it won't seem like something unacceptable anymore."

Emily Macel is an associate editor at Dance Magazine.