The Billy club

From Left: Stars Kiril Kullish, Trent Kowallk and David Alvarez

Photograph: Carol Rosegg

Fans of Schoolhouse Rock and De La Soul know what the magic number is. Apparently, so do the producers of Billy Elliot: The Musical. When the musicalization of the 2000 film opened on London’s West End in 2005, it received rave reviews and won three Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical. The award was shared among the show’s three stars. That’s the number of extraordinarily talented teens it takes to perform a full week’s bill of the musical’s physically demanding title role. This month, the production opens on Broadway with a new talented trio: David Alvarez from Montreal and Kiril Kulish from San Diego, both 14, and Long Islander Trent Kowalik, 13. Markedly different in looks, personality and training, these Broadway neophytes put their individual stamps on the character. Time Out Kids chatted with the boys about their showbiz aspirations and life outside the theater.

Could you guys relate to the role of a dance-obsessed kid?
Kiril Yes! I’ve always had the urge to dance. People at my ballet studio kept calling me Billy Elliot, and I never knew who he was.I was like, “Why are you calling me that?” And then my sister brought home the film and we watched it, and I realized why.
Trent Same here! People used to say to me, “You’d make a great Billy Elliot,” I guess because I danced a lot. I would start tapping, and my mom would be like, “Stop already!”
David Not me. People always just called me David.

Is being on Broadway a dream come true?
Kiril No, that wasn’t what I was training for. I was a classicalballet dancer.
Trent I wanted to be in Riverdance when I was younger, because I was really into Irish step dancing. When I was three, I would put on my sister’s huge tap shoes and try to copy Michael Flatley on a cutting board. But as I got older and saw more Broadway shows, I kind of got hooked.
David I’d never done any acting, only ballet, so it was a real surprise when I got the part.

How do you feel about sharing the role?
David It helps a lot. If one of us was doing it by himself, he’d get stressed out.
Trent It was a relief, actually.
Kiril The role is really demanding, technically, physically. I don’t think it’s possible for one boy to do eight shows a week.

We understand that the choreographer created different moves for each of you. Do you rehearse separately or together?
Kiril It depends what we’re doing. For the things that are different choreographically, we usually rehearse alone so we won’t get mixed up.
David The changes are based on what we’re good at. If one of us is good at ballet, we get more ballet. If we’re good at hip-hop, we get more hip-hop.

Do you find yourselves competing with one another?
Kiril The only competition we have is with ourselves. I always try to be better than I was the day before.
Trent Except if we’re talking about pool.
David Or video games!
Kiril Trent and I play pool at lunch, and I kick his butt.
Trent He just says that because he’s obsessed with the physics of pool!

What do you three do in your spare time?
Kiril I love doing things outside, like basketball, soccer, football…
Trent I like to cram in as much as I can: see my family and friends and do my own hobbies like jump-roping, pogo-sticking, pool, basketball, soccer, Ping-Pong…
David I think my answer’s totally the best: I sleep.

Do you have any advice for kids who want to follow in your footsteps?
Trent Never feel afraid to try something that other people aren’t doing.
Kiril Dance is just as hard as football and other sports. You have to be really fit and have muscles and train for it. It’s not just for girls. Boys should try it too.
David Work hard…and rest.

Next: Shrek: The Musical